A Special Bond
by Renthead621
Summary: The story of how Roger and Mark met and why they are so close. I recently revamped this story because I felt I left a lot out that was core to the story. I am very proud of this story. I hope you like it too. Please Read and Review. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, you're Mark Cohen, right?" Roger asked walking down the hall of Scarsdale High School.

"Um, yeah. You're Roger Davis. Why are you talking to me?" 14 year old Mark asked pushing his glasses back on this face. The coolest kid in school was talking to him. "This couldn't be good." he thought to himself.

"I wanted to ask you something." Roger asked leaning down to talk to the freshman.

"What?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Is your sister Amanda seeing anyone?" he asked scratching his head nervously.

"Amanda Cohen? The cheerleader, Amanda Cohen?" Mark asked confused.

"Yeah, Amanda Cohen. Is she seeing anyone?" he asked getting more nervous.

"No, she's not seeing anyone." Mark said sensing his nervousness.

"Do you think if I asked her out she would say yes?" he asked smiling down at him.

"Maybe. You'd have to ask her though. I think she has Spanish class now." Mark said pushing his glasses up onto his face again.

"Thanks man. I'm not gonna forget this." Roger said excitedly as he sprinted down the hallway towards the Spanish classes.

"No problem." Mark said but Roger didn't hear him. He was already gone. He looked up and continued to his English class.

"Hey, Amanda." he said out of breath but playing it cool.

"Hi Roger." she said smiling up at him. He had on a black leather jacket and his green eyes seemed to glisten. He was 16 and beautiful. He was the coolest guy in school.

"Um, I wanted to ask you something." he said smiling down at her. Her blue eyes pierced his soul. Her long blond hair lay between her back and her shoulders.

"What's the matter?" she asked standing in front of him.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go out with me?" he asked quietly leaning down towards her.

"Are you serious?" she asked him smiling up at him.

"Yeah, why?" he told her feeling disappointed.

"I don't know. It's just you're cool and I'm a cheerleader. Aren't your friends gonna give you a hard time if you date me?" she asked flipping her hair back.

"Do I strike you as the type of guy who would care what other people say?" he asked smiling down at her.

"I guess not." she said smiling back at him.

"So, will you go out with me?" he asked running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, yeah I'll go out with you." she said smiling at him.

"Cool. We'll go to lunch together and figure out what we wanna do this weekend." he said excitedly.

"OK. I gotta go. Class is about to start." she said smiling up at him dropping her books. "Oh man." she said kneeling down to pick up her books.

"OK." he said laughing as he knelt down to help her. She looked up at him smiling. He leaned in to kiss her.

"What was that for?" she asked as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"I've been wanting to do that since the 7th grade." he said smiling at her.

"Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way." she said smiling at him as the final bell rang and the Spanish teacher came out to get her.

"Miss Cohen, that was the bell I heard. Why aren't you in class?" Sra. Martinez asked looking down at her and Roger.

"Sorry Sra. Martinez, I just dropped my books and Roger was helping me get them." she said smiling up at Roger.

"Well I think it's about time you get inside. And Mr. Davis, I know Mrs. Stevens is waiting for you in junior math." she told him as they both got up.

"Yes Sra. Martinez. I'll see you for lunch. I'll meet you right here." he said smiling at her.

"OK Roger. Bye." she said smiling back at him as she went into the classroom.

"Miss Cohen, you and your boyfriend should learn to be more punctual." Sra. Martinez told her as she went to her seat.

"Yes, Sra." Amanda answered smiling as she took her seat and class began.

"Amanda, what are you doing?" Margaret asked quietly as Amanda took her seat.

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked organizing her books.

"Roger Davis is your boyfriend now?" she asked obnoxiously.

"Margaret, who I date is none of your business. " Amanda said looking up to the black board.

"But Roger Davis? You can't be serious. He's a leather jacket wearing Neanderthal." Margaret whispered to her.

"Margaret, enough. Don't talk about my boyfriend like that." Amanda said leaning over at her before directing her attention back to Sra. Martinez.

"Whatever." Margaret said giving up. For now.

"Tonight's homework is on Chapters 3 and 4. I'll see you all tomorrow. Hopefully on time, right Miss Cohen?" she asked as Amanda gathered her books together.

"Yes ma'am." Amanda said leaving the classroom ignoring Margaret.

"So, how much shit did you catch from Sra. Martinez?" Roger asked as she came out of the classroom.

"I can handle her." she told him smiling up at him happy to see that he was standing outside the classroom.

"So I was thinking we could go to the pizzeria for lunch. Unless you want to go somewhere else, where your friends aren't." he told her as they walked out of the school.

"No, the pizzeria's fine. You're my boyfriend Roger. It's about time people get used to seeing us together." she told him smiling as she took his hand.

"OK then." he said smiling at her as they walked to the pizzeria.

"So Roger, tell me something I don't already know about you." she said looking up at him.

"Well, I've liked you since the 7th grade. But you were always a cheerleader and I didn't think you'd want to go out with me because, well because I'm me." he said looking down at his feet.

"Roger, I'm not the typical cheerleader, you know." she said stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look up at him.

"I'm figuring that out." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"Well if there is anything I can do to help you figure it out better, let me know, OK" she said wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him.

"I will." he said smelling her hair. It smelled like her strawberry shampoo.

"Now, I'm hungry. Let's get to lunch." she said smiling as he smiled back at her.

"One more thing." he said leaning down to kiss her again.

"I like that. But we really have to go to lunch. The lunch period ends too soon as it is." she said smiling at him as they went to the pizzeria.

"Amanda, what are you doing?" Margaret asked as Roger and Amanda entered the pizzeria holding each other.

"Um, eating lunch with my boyfriend." Amanda said smiling at Roger.

"Do you realize you're a cheerleader and he is a freak?" Margaret asked standing with Addie and Jamie.

"I told you not to talk about my boyfriend Margaret." Amanda asked looking at them.

"But why him?" Addie asked looking at Amanda and Roger.

"Because I like him. Do you have a problem with that?" she asked him leaning up to kiss him.

"But it's Roger Davis?" Addie asked with her hands on her hips.

"You know what? I'm done. I'm gonna go eat with my boyfriend. If this meeting of the bitch squad is over, I'm gonna go now." Amanda said looking up at Roger.

"We are not gonna be seen eating with Roger Davis." Margaret told her as Amanda looked back at her.

"Good because you're not invited." Amanda said kissing Roger before they left them.

"Are you OK?" he asked smiling down at her relieved that she still wanted to be his girlfriend.

"I'm fine. I don't care what anyone thinks. I like you so, I'm dating you and that's it. Let's eat." she said smiling at him as they sat at the table.

"I'm glad because I like you too." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I like when you do that." she said laughing up at him.

"Good because I like doing it." he told her laughing back at her.

"Well if it isn't Davis and the cheerleader." Benny Coffin said coming in to the pizzeria.

"Benny, don't start." Roger said looking up at him.

"What? I'm not starting, I'm just playing around. Hey Amanda." Benny said sitting down.

"Sorry. We just had to tango with Margaret and her merry band of bitches." Roger said looking at Amanda.

"Oh, gotcha. I take it your friends aren't as happy for you as you expected them to be?" Benny asked looking over at Amanda.

"Not exactly. I don't care though. I like Roger, so when he asked me out I was more than happy to say yes." she said smiling up at Roger.

"Well good for you. I know Roger has liked you since junior high. I'm glad he finally got the balls up to ask you out." Benny said laughing.

"Thanks a lot Benny. I'm gonna go get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Roger said looking over at Amanda.

"Um, a pepperoni slice and a diet soda." she said smiling up at him.

"OK, I'll be right back." he said kissing her before going to the counter.

"So you and Roger, huh?" Benny said smiling at her.

"Yeah, he just asked me out before last period." she told him flipping her hair back.

"That's cool. I'm sorry about before. I like screwing with Roger. I didn't know your friends were giving you hell about it." he told her as Roger smiled at her from the counter.

"Yeah well, my friends are snobs. I don't care what they say. I like him and I'm not gonna let them dictate who I go out with." she said as Roger came back to the table with the food.

"Are you talking about me?" Roger asked smiling at Amanda.

"Yeah, I was asking her what she sees in you." Benny asked giving Amanda a wink.

"Yeah well at least I got a girl. Who's your girlfriend? Oh right, you don't have one." Roger said laughing.

"Very funny. I was thinking of asking Jocelyn out." Benny said as Amanda smiled at him.

"So, what's stopping you?" Amanda asked taking a bite of her pizza.

"I don't know. She might say no." he told her taking a sip of his soda.

"Or she might say yes. You should go for it." she told him as Roger saw Mark enter the pizzeria.

"Hey Mark, why don't you eat with us." he called out as Mark approached the table.

"Hi Marky. You know Roger and Benny, don't you?" Amanda said smiling at her little brother.

"Yeah, hi guys. I see Roger asked you out." he said smiling at them.

"How did you know?" she asked looking up at him.

"He asked me if you were dating anyone and then asked if I thought you'd say yes." Mark said as Roger leaned over to buy his face in Amanda's hair.

"Oh he did, did he? That's so cute Roger." she said smiling as she brought her hand up to his head.

"Thanks Marky." he said laughing as he and Amanda hugged.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't know you didn't want her to know." Mark said embarrased.

"It's OK Marky. I think it's sweet." Amanda said laughing as Roger looked at her smiling.

"But it's embarrassing." Roger told her.

"Well I think it's sweet. My boyfriend was afraid to ask me out so he asked my little brother if he thought I'd say yes." Amanda said leaning in to kiss him.

"Yeah Rog, it is kind of sweet." Benny told him teasingly.

"Yeah, um your crap I don't need." Roger said as everyone laughed.

"Sorry man." Benny told him laughing again.

"Now let's eat. Lunch is gonna be over soon." Amanda said smiling at Mark then Roger.

"So do you want me to give you a ride home from school. We could talk." Roger asked as they all walked back to school.

"Well I have cheerleading squad and Mark has his photography club and then we usually take the late bus home." she told him walking ahead of Benny and Mark.

"OK. I'll wait for you. I want to watch you anyway." he told her smiling at her.

"OK, we're gonna bring Mark too, right?" she asked before they reached the school.

"Of course. Mark's my man. Right Mark?" Roger asked looking back at him.

"Yeah sure Roger." Mark answered uncomfortably.

"Good because Mark's my best friend Roger. It's important to me that you guys get along." she said looking up at him.

"That's cool. We will." Roger said smiling down at her as they entered the school.

"I gotta go to class guys. I'll meet you after school Mandy." Mark said smiling at his sister.

"Yeah, Roger is gonna give us a ride home later." Amanda told him smiling. Her arm was still around Roger's waist.

"OK. See you guys by the gym." Mark said leaving them.

"OK Mark." Roger said smiling.

"Thank you Roger. Lunch was really nice. I guess we had our first date." she said facing him.

"I guess so. How was it?" he asked smilng down at her.

"It was a great first date." she told him smiling.

"Good, not all we have to do is figure out what we're gonna do for our second date." Roger asked bringing her closer to him.

"We'll talk later." she told him putting her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

"OK. I'll see you later." he said kissing her back.

"OK. Bye." she said going into the classroom.

"You really like her, don't you?" Benny asked as he and Roger walked to class.

"Yeah. Yeah I do." Roger said looking down.

"Good. I'm glad you're happy." Benny said patting Roger on the back.

"I am." Roger said smiling at him as they went to class. After school Roger waited for Amanda so he could walk her to the locker room. He wanted to watch her in cheerleading squad. "I'll be in the gym waiting for you. I can't wait to see you cheerleading." Roger said smiling down at her.

"Roger, you've seen me cheerleading since we were 12." she laughed looking up at him.

"I know, but you're my girl now." he said smiling before leaning down to kiss her.

"OK Roger. I'll see you in a little bit." she laughed kissing him again.

Amanda, are you really gonna date Roger Davis?" Margaret asked as Amanda entered the locker room.

"Margaret, we've been over this. Yes I'm dating Roger Davis. What is your problem?" she asked looking up at her as she continued to her locker.

"You're a cheerleader Amanda. You have a reputation to uphold and Roger Davis is just gonna ruin that for you." she said as Addie and Jamie followed her.

"Well then maybe I shouldn't be a cheerleader anymore." Amanda said looking up at her.

"What are you talking about? You're willing to give up cheerleading for Roger Davis?" she asked looking over at her.

"It's not just that Margaret, it's everything. You act like you guys are my keepers and you're not. You don't like my brother and now you don't like my boyfriend. I'm not gonna deal with this anymore." she said packing her book bag with everything that was in her cheerleading locker.

"Amanda, think about this." Addie said looking over at her.

"I have. You guys have given me no choice." she said slamming her locker door before zipping her gym bag and leaving the locker room and rushing into the gym to find Roger.

"Amanda, what are you doing? Why aren't you in your cheerleading uniform?" Roger asked looking down at her as she ran into him.

"I quit. I can't take it anymore. Can we go somewhere? Please?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, we can go sit in my car. We can talk while we wait for Mark to get out of his photography club." he said putting his arm around her leading her outside. They sat in Roger's car just talking.

"Mandy, how come you're out so early?" Mark asked seeing them sitting in Roger's car.

"I quit Marky. I couldn't take it anymore. Margaret and the others acting like they can dictate who I talk to, who I hang out with and who I date. I don't want to be around them anymore." she said looking up at him as he got into the car.

"How could you quit? You've been a cheerleading since Jr. High. You're the head cheerleader. You've been wanting to be the head cheerleader since forever." he said looking over at her from the back seat.

"I can't be around people who can't accept who I am and who I hang out with. I'm not like them." she said as Roger sat silently in the drivers seat.

"Mom's gonna be mad." Mark said looking over at her.

"No she's not. She never liked Margaret, Addie and Jamie anyway. It'll be OK Marky. You'll see." she smiled looking over at Roger.

"Are you guys ready to go home?" Roger asked breaking his silence.

"Yeah, I think so." Amanda smiled turning around to face the front of the car.

* * *

"What do you mean you quit the squad and you're dating Roger Davis?" Mrs. Cohen asked standing in the kitchen with Amanda.

"Mom, you didn't like Margaret, Addie and Jamie anyway." she said looking up at her.

"But Amanda, you're the head cheerleader. You've been wanting to be the head cheerleader since you were 12 years old." she told her as she leaned on the counter.

"I know, but mom they're snobs." she argued looking up at her.

"Did you quit for Roger Davis?" she asked standing up straight.

"No mom. Not directly. It's just that Margaret and the others don't like Mark and they were giving me a hard time about dating Roger and I'm not gonna have them judging him. They don't even know him. He's really nice mom. You'll like him mom." she smiled looking up at her.

"I'm sure I will. Why don't you invite him over after school tomorrow. We can spend some time with him." Mrs. Cohen said smiling down at her.

"Thanks mom. You are so cool. I'm gonna call him now and make sure it's OK with his parents. I love you mom." she said kissing her mother's cheek.

"Well if Roger's important to you, he's important to us." she smiled as Amanda looked up at her.

"He is mom. I'm gonna call him, OK? Call me when dinner's ready." she said excitedly as she rushed to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Amanda Lee, Roger's here." Mrs. Cohen called out standing by the door. "You look nice, Roger." she said laughed as he stood before her wearing torn jeans, a torn t-shirt and chains. He had on his leather jacket and his hair was spiked in all different directions and he was wearing eyeliner.

"Thank you Mrs. Cohen." he laughed as he waited for Amanda to come down.

"Mom, would you stop using my middle name. It's creepy." she said coming down wearing a short skirt, fishnet stockings, combat boots and her hair was unbrushed. Her make up was smudged and she was wearing black lipstick.

"My daughter the punk." Mrs. Cohen laughed as Roger smiled. Even as a punk she was stunning.

"Mom, we're Sid and Nancy from the Sex Pistols." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"You look amazing Amanda." he smiled as his palms began to sweat.

"Thanks, you look awesome too." she laughed looking up at him. "Come on Marky. Roger's here. We gotta go." she yelled up the stairs as Roger helped her put her leather jacket on.

"I'm coming Mandy. Geez, don't rush me." he yelled coming down the stairs. "I look like a dork." he complained dressed like Jason from the Friday the 13th movies.

"You do not. You look cool." Amanda said smiling up at him.

"OK Roger, don't keep them out too late and drive carefully, OK?" Mrs. Cohen said smiling up at him.

"Don't worry Mrs. Cohen. They're in good hands." he smiled still staring down at Amanda. She looked so beautiful.

"Come on, we're gonna be late." Amanda said looking up at Roger and Mark. "Bye mom. I love you." she said kissing her mother's cheek leaving a black lipstick smudge.

"I love you too sweetie." she laughed as they rushed out the door.

"You really do look great Amanda." Roger said as he opened the car door for her.

"Thanks Roger. You don't look to bad yourself." she said smiling up at him before getting in the car.

"Do you think Margaret, Addie and Jamie are gonna be there?" Mark asked from the back seat.

"Of course they will and I don't much care. I'm not gonna worry myself with them." Amanda said looking back at him as Roger drove to the school.

"They're gonna give you a hard time, you know?" Mark asked playing with his 35 mm camera.

"I know, but it doesn't matter. I'm gonna be with my 2 favorite guys, so I'm good." she smiled as she looked up at Roger who took her hand and squeezed it.

"They better not mess with my girl. I want you to have fun tonight." he smiled paying attention to the road.

"Don't worry, I will." she smiled as they pulled into the parking lot of the school. As they got out of the car and entered the gym, Roger put his arm around Amanda. She held on to the back of his leather jacket tightly. Everyone watched as they walked over to the bleachers.

"Do you think anyone notices us?" Roger asked smiling as Amanda laughed.

"Yeah, I think so." she laughed as he swept her into his arms.

"So let's give them something to notice." he whispered as he swept her into a sweet, tender kiss.

"This is gonna be a night to remember." she said as he caressed her face.

"I hope so." he whispered as he held her close. The music played and they danced every slow dance the DJ played.

* * *

"I had a great time tonight Roger. Thank you." Amanda said as Mark got out of the car to go in the house.

"Mandy, we've been dating for over a month, right?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked smiling up at him.

"I wanted to tell you something." he said looking down nervously.

"What's the matter Roger?" she asked looking at him. He looked up at her and smiled. The street lamp hit her eyes just right.

"I love you." he said holding her hand as he gazed into her bright blue eyes.

"Roger, I love you toor." she whispered as he moved closer to her.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I do Roger. I've never felt this way about anyone or anything before." she said smiling up at him.

"Me neither. I love you Mandy." he repeated leaning in to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger. But Marky's the only one who's ever called me Mandy." she laughed kissing him again.

"Do you think he would mind if I called you that too. I like it." he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it. I like the way you say it." she laughed kissing him again.

"It looks like your mom wants our date to end." he laughed noticing the porch lights go on and off.

"But I don't. I had a great night. I like spending time with you Roger." she said looking up at him.

"I like spending time with you too Mandy." he smiled kissing her again. "But if you don't go inside, I won't be able to call you when I get home.." he said caressing her cheek.

"OK. I'll talk to you later." she smiled enjoying the feel of his soft hands on her cheeks.

"Bye Mandy. I love you." he smiled dropping his hand so she can get out of the car.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled as she shut the car door and rushed into the house. She watched from the door as he pulled out of the driveway and began to drive home.

"So, you and Roger had fun tonight?" Mrs. Cohen asked smiling at her daughter.

"We had so much fun mom. I really like Roger." she said smiling at her.

"I can tell. He is a very nice boy Amanda. Just don't move too fast, OK? You just started dating him." Mrs. Cohen told her as Amanda took her leather jacket off.

"Mom, we've been dating over a month. And I really like him. And he really likes me. He makes me feel so special." she said looking up at her mother.

"You are special Amanda." Mrs. Cohen said taking Amanda's hand.

"You know what I mean mom. Roger makes me feel like the only girl in the world." she said smiling up at her.

"I know Amanda. You just make sure that boy knows he's lucky to have you as his girlfriend." she smiled kissing Amanda's hairsprayed head.

"I think he knows mom. At least he acts like he knows." she said looking up at her.

"Good." she smiled as Amanda went upstairs.

"Mom, Roger's gonna call me when he gets home, so I'll get the phone in my room when it rings, OK?" she said looking down at her.

"OK Amanda. Good night sweetie." Mrs. Cohen smiled watching her daughter rush to her room.

"Marky, are you up?" Amanda asked knocking on Mark's bedroom door.

"Yeah, come on in." he said sitting on his bed.

"Did you have fun tonight?" she asked sitting on his bed.

"Yeah. I liked seeing you and Roger together. It pissed Margaret, Jamie and Addie off." he laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, they were really shooting daggers at us, weren't they?" she laughed looking down at her black nails.

"He really likes you, doesn't he?" he asked looking over at her.

"He loves me Marky. He told me outside in the car." she said smiling at him.

"Isn't it a little soon for him to be telling you that." he asked looking up at her.

"Marky, I love him too. I don't know what it is about him. I mean, he makes me feel so special and he treats me like I'm a princess." she smiled looking over at him.

"I'm glad. But he better be good to you." he said smiling over at her.

"He is Marky. I promise. Oh, Roger wanted to know if he can call me Mandy. I like the way he says it. Please." she asked in a sweet voice looking over at him.

"Yeah, I think it would be OK. As long as he loves you and treats you right." he answered as she smiled at him.

"He does Marky, he really does. Thank you." she said hugging him.

"Good night Mandy." he said smiling over at her.

"Good night Marky." she smiled before leaving the room.

* * *

"Hi Roger. You look so handsome. What do you and Amanda have planned for tonight?" she asked smiling up at him as she opened the door. 

"We're gonna go to dinner and just hang out." he smiled at her standing uncomfortably at the door.

"That sounds nice. Amanda, Roger's here." she shouted up the stairs.

"I'm coming mom." she yelled rushing down the stairs. She was wearing a pink flowing skirt and a pretty pink blouse.

"You look beautiful Mandy." Roger said as she came into view.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself." Amanda said leaning up to kiss him.

"You two have fun. Remember Roger 11 o'clock." she told him smiling up at them.

"Mom, he's been bringing me home at 11 for 4 months." Amanda said as Roger opened the front door for her.

"I know. Just have fun." she said laughing as they left.

"Are you ready Baby?" Roger asked as she got in the car.

"Yes Roger I'm ready." she said smiling at him as he got in the car and she leaned in to kiss him passioinately.

"I want this to be the most special night of our lives." he said pulling out of the driveway.

"It will be. We're together." she said smiling over at him.

"I love you Mandy. You do know that right?" he asked leaning in to her.

"Of course I know that. I love you too Roger." she said pulling him into an embrace.

"Good. I don't want you to ever forget it." he said kissing her.

"I won't. I promise." she told him smiling at him as they went inside. They went into the house and went up to Roger's room. His parents went away for the weekend so he had the house to themselves.

"So, you're sure you're ready?" he asked sitting on his bed.

"Roger, I'm totally ready." she told him sitting on his lap to kiss him. As they lay back on the bed they began to make love. It was beautiful. It was the first time for both of them, so it was extra special.

"Are you OK?" Roger asked afterwards holding her in his arms.

"I've never been better." she told him smiling up at him before kissing him.

"I made you something." he told her sitting up to reach the radio on his night stand.

"Roger, what did you do?" she asked sitting up watching him.

"You'll see." he said pressing play on his tape player. "I love you Mandy." the voice on the tape said before the music started. It was Roger's.

"I love you too Roger." Amanda said laying back as tears formed in her eyes.

"When we say goodbye, I feel as if I'd die without your tender touch..." the song started as Roger wrapped his arms around Amanda holding her tight.

"Roger, it's my song. You recorded my song for me." she said looking up at him crying excitedly.

"Now whenever you want to hear it, I'm there with you." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"This is incredible Roger. I love it." she said holding him tight.

"Well, I love you Mandy. I always will." Roger told her kissing her.

"And I'll always love you Roger." she said listening to her song.

"Mandy, I gotta get you home." Roger said looking at the clock on his desk. It was 10:30.

"I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you." she said holding him tighter.

"I know and I want you to stay with me too. But your mom will kill me if I don't bring you home." he said kissing her head.

"I know, but this has been the most magical night of my life. I don't want it to end." she told him smiling up at him.

"Mine too Mandy. But we'll have more great nights. I promise." he told her leaning down to kiss her.

"OK." she said reluctantly getting up.

"Hey Mandy. I love you." he said as they got dressed.

"I know. I love you too Roger." she told him leaning down to kiss him.

"Good." he said smiling as they finished getting dressed.

"I had such an amazing night." she told him sitting in the car in front of her house.

"Me too. I love you Mandy." he said leaning over to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger. I'll see you tomorrow." she said kissing him again.

"Do you want to come over tomorrow?" he asked caressing her face.

"I'd love to." she said smilng at him before kissing him and getting out of the car.

"I love you Mandy." he told her smiling before she closed the car door.

"I love you too Roger." she said laughing before closing the door and running into the house.

"Amanda, is that you?" Mr. Cohen called out from the living room.

"Yeah dad. It's me. Where's mom?" she asked looking around the room.

"In bed. She appointed me to wait up for you. So what did you and Roger do tonight?" she asked putting down the newspaper.

"We went out to eat and then just hung out." she answered sitting on the couch.

"Well that sounds really nice. How are things going with you two?" he asked smiling at her.

"Great dad. We're in love." she answered as his eyes widened.

"Already?" he asked seeing her smile.

"Daddy, we've been dating 4 months. I'm in love with him and he's in love with me." she said as her smile got wider.

"Has it been that long already?" he said smiling at her.

"Yeah, it has." she told him folding her legs under her on the couch.

"Wow. I think that's the longest you've been with any boy." he told her laughing.

"Well daddy, Roger's different. He's sweet, he's kind, he writes me songs and he's really good to me." she told him shifting on the couch.

"Well good, because my little girl deserves the best that boy's got." he said laughing.

"He is the best daddy. I'm gonna go check on Marky and then go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." she said getting up to kiss her father good night.

"Good night honey." he said as she ran up the stairs.

"Hey Marky." she said knocking on Mark's bedroom door.

"Hi Mandy. How was your date with Roger?" he asked looking up from his book.

"It was magical Marky." she said plopping on his bed.

"I don't want to know." he said putting his book down and getting up.

"Come on Marky. You're my best friend. Who else am I supposed to talk to about this?" she asked looking up at him.

"Anyone but me. You're my sister Mandy and Roger's my friend. I don't want to know what you guys do." he told her looking over at her.

"OK, I understand. But I'm really happy Marky. Roger is so amazing." she told him getting up to approach him.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy. He better not hurt you." Mark told her hugging her.

"He won't. Mark, he loves me. I mean really loves me." she said hugging him back.

"I'm glad." Mark told her smiling at her.

"Me too. I'm go to bed. I'm hanging out with Roger tomorrow." she told him smiling at him.

"OK Good night Mandy." he said smiling back.

"Good night Marky." she told him as she left the room . As she got changed for bed she recalled the events of the night. Being with Roger was amazing. She put in the tape he made her and played it as she fell asleep.

"Amanda, telephone. It's Roger." Mrs. Cohen called out waking Amanda up.

"Thanks mom. Hi Baby, what time is it?...8:30? Are you insane?... you do? That 's so sweet. OK let me just take a shower and you can pick me up in a half hour... OK I'll see you then... I love you too. Bye." she said hanging up the phone and rubbing her eyes before getting out of bed and grabbing her robe and towels before leaving her room.

"Where are you going so early?" Mrs. Cohen asked looking up from putting the clean linens in the closet.

"Roger wants to take me out to breakfast and we're just gonna hang out today. Maybe go to the mall." she said smiling at her.

"OK, well have fun sweetie." she said before Amanda went into the bathroom. "Mark, can I ask you something?" Mrs. Cohen asked as Mark came out of his room.

"Mom, I wish you wouldn't. I don't want to be put in the middle of anything involving Mandy and Roger." he said walking down stairs.

"Fair enough Mark. I'm sorry." she said smiling at Mark before going down stairs to make Mark and Mr. Cohen breakfast.

"Mom, I'll be back by curfew." Amanda said before running out of the house as Roger pulled into the driveway.

"Hi Baby." Roger said smiling at her as she got in the car.

"Hi yourself handsome." she said leaning over to kiss him.

"So where to?" he asked smiling wider.

"Well, I'm starving, so how about breakfast first and then we can spend the whole day in bed. I don't have to be home until later tonight." she said as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Great idea Baby." he said driving to the diner for breakfast.

"Well if it isn't the ex cheerleader and the freak. " Margaret said as Roger and Amanda entered the diner.

"Margaret, aren't you late for your bitch of the month club meeting?" Amanda asked holding Roger.

"Aren't you sick of dating him yet?" she asked looking them up and down.

"Why don't you just lay off Margaret? You're just jealous that my girl is a better cheerleader than you." Roger said holding Amanda tighter.

"Not a chance." Margaret said insulted.

"Yeah, that's why the only reason you're head cheerleader is because Amanda quit. Otherwise, she'd wipe the floor with you." he said kissing Amanda's head. "Come on Baby. I don't want you to lose your appetite." he said leading her to a back table.

"Oh my God, Roger. You were incredible." she said jumping into his arms and holding him tight.

"Well no one messes with my girl." Roger said holding her close.

"Thank you Roger. That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." she told him smiling at him.

"Get used to it Baby. I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you." he said smiling back before they sat down.

"You are amazing Roger. How did I get so lucky to get a guy like you?" she asked gazing into his eyes across the table.

"You said yes." he told her smiling.

"I am so smart." she said laughing.

"The smartest." he said leaning over the table to kiss her.

"You should take Mark out one day. I'm afraid he's feeling left out." Amanda told him holding his hand across the table.

"OK. I can take him out next weekend when I go to the mall." he said picking up his menu.

"Why? What's next week?" she asked looking up at him.

"Your birthday, remember?" he said smiling at her.

"Oh right. With everything going on with us and school I forgot. I'm finally gonna be 17." she said laughing.

"I want to get you something special and Mark can help me out with it." he told her holding her hand.

"I already have something special. You." she said as he reached over to caress her face.

"We should eat. I want to get you back to my house and do what we did last night." he said leaning over to kiss her.

"Me too. I love being with you." she said kissing him back.

"I love being with you too." he said smiling at her as they began to look over the menus to order.


	3. Chapter 3

"Happy Anniversary Baby." Roger said kissing Amanda's head as he handed her a small box.

"What is this Roger?" she asked opening the box.

"Open it." he said smiling at her.

"I love it." she said taking the double heart ring out of the box and putting it on her finger.

"Well I love you." he said as she leaned up to kiss him.

"It's beautiful Roger. It matches the locket you got me for my birthday." she said looking down at her locket.

"That's what I tried to do. I can't believe we've been together for a year already." he said holding her close.

"Me neither. This has been the best year of my life." she told him smiling at him.

"Mine too. Marry me Mandy." Roger asked looking down her her.

"What?" she asked looking at him in shock.

"Marry me. We're both gonna be 18 soon and out of school, marry me." he asked getting down on one knee to propose to her again.

"Roger, I love you. Of course I'll marry you." she told him excitedly as she sat on his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck to hold him close.

"Really?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yes Roger, really. I love you and I don't want to be without you." she said kissing him.

"Good, because I don't want to be without you either. I'm gonna get you a real engagement ring and do it right. I promise." he said kissing her again and holding her closer to him.

"Roger, I don't care about that. I love you." she told him looking up at him.

"I know, but I do. I want my girl to have a real engagement ring." he said kissing her head.

"So I guess we're getting married." she said happily as she tackled him to the floor in his room and they began to make love.

"Yes we are." he said caressing her.

"I love you Roger Aaron Davis." she said laying in his arms.

"I love you too Amanda Lee Cohen." he said looking down at her.

"Soon to be Amanda Lee Davis." she said smiling up at him.

"I like the sound of that." Roger told her leaning down to kiss her.

"I can't wait." she said kissing him again.

"So Baby, are we gonna tell Mark?" he asked looking down at her.

"Not yet. I know my parents pump him for information and I know they'll just say we're too young and I'm too happy to let them ruin it for us." she told him smiling up at him.

"OK we'll keep it secret until your 18. Then they can't stop us." he said kissing her head.

"Good idea." she said smiling up at him.

"I thought so. Baby, we'd better be going. We have to meet Benny and Jocelyn at the diner in a half an hour." Roger told her leaning down to kiss her before they got up.

"OK Baby." she said smiling as they got out of bed and started to get dressed.

"Mandy, I was thinking. When we get married we should get our own place." he said tying his boots.

"But I was thinking of going to NYU when we graduate." she said kneeling in front of him to kiss him.

"What about my job here?" he asked looking down at her.

"Roger, you wanna be a rock star, right?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah." he answered quietly.

"Well you can't be a rock star in Scarsdale. You have to go to the city and play in clubs. That's where all the record producers hang out. We can get a place in the village or something." she told him smiling.

"You want to go to NYU so I can be a rock star in the city?" he asked smiling at her.

"Well yeah. You're gonna be my husband and you're too talented to be stuck in Scarsdale for the rest of our lives." she said as he pulled her onto the bed.

"You are amazing Mandy." he said taking her into his arms.

"I know." she said laughing as she tackled him to the bed kissing him passionately. "Now we have to go meet Benny and Jocelyn." she told him laughing.

"They'll understand." he told her reaching under her shirt.

"OK." she said laughing more as she curled her legs around him.

* * *

"Where the hell were you two? We thought you were in an accident or something." Benny asked when Roger and Amanda finally arrived at the diner. 

"Sorry. We were just opening our presents." Roger said laughing as he grabbed Amandas waist.

"You guys are so gross." Benny told them as Jocelyn laughed.

"Oh Benny stop. They're cute." Jocelyn said squeezing his hand.

"And we're engaged." Roger said holding Amanda closer.

"Oh my God. That's incredible you guys." Jocelyn said hugging them.

"But you can't tell anyone. Not even Mark. We don't want anyone to know until we're 18." Amanda told them smiling at Roger.

"OK mums the word. As long as we're invited to the wedding." Jocelyn told them happily.

"Of course you guys are invited. You're our best friends." Amanda told them hugging Jocelyn again.

"Oh and we're moving to the city when we get married." Roger told them as they sat down.

"What about college?" Jocelyn asked Amanda.

"I'm going to NYU. Roger wants to be a rock star and that's the place to be." Amanda said smiling up at Roger.

"That's great guys. You two have everything all figured out." Benny said smiling at them.

"Yeah, now all we have to do is graduate." Roger said holding Amanda close to him.

* * *

"Happy birthday Roger." Amanda said handing him a box.

"Baby, what did you get me?" he asked opening up the box. It was a custom made plate holder. It was engraved. On the top it said Roger -N- Mandy and on the bottom it said Love Forever. "I love it." he said holding it up.

"Good I'm glad. But you're forgetting one thing." she said standing in front of him in her denim mini skirt.

"What?" he asked as she gave him a seductive look.

"Me." she said as she wrapped he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her neck.

"The best present ever." he said holding her in his arms. As they began to make love Roger and Amanda felt like the only two people in the world.

"I can't wait until I'm 18. Then we can tell everyone we're engaged." she said smiling up at him.

"Me neither. But it'll happen soon Baby. Only 4 months to go." he said kissing her head.

"I know Baby." she said leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

"Roger, you need to come get me." Amanda said crying over the phone.

"Baby, what's the matter? Did your parents find out we're engaged?" he asked sitting on his bed.

"No. Roger please just come get me. I'll tell you when you get here. I need you." she said crying harder.

"OK OK Mandy. I'm coming. Hang on Baby. I'm coming." he said hanging up the phone. He was so worried, he forgot to tell her he loved her. He jumped in his car and drove over to her house as fast as he could.

"Oh my God, Roger. Um, I was late with my period right and my parents took Mark to my grandmothers because I wasn't feeling good, so I went out and got a test thingy and it said I was pregnant." she said crying into his chest.

"Mandy, Baby calm down. You took a test and your pregnant?" he asked holding her in his arms.

"Yeah. Roger, what are we gonna do?" she asked crying more.

"Baby, it's OK. You're gonna be 18 in 2 months and then we'll get married and everything is gonna be OK." he told her kissing her head.

"It is?" she asked looking up at him sniffling.

"Yeah. Mandy we want to be together forever right?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, but if my parents find out, they'll never let us keep the baby." she told him wiping her eyes.

"So we won't tell them. We can get married on your 18th birthday and they can't do anything after that." he said comforting her.

"Really?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, Mandy everything is gonna be fine. I promise." he told her caressing her face wiping her tears with his thumbs.

"OK. Roger can we just go someplace please? Away from here." she asked leaning up to kiss him.

"OK. We'll go somewhere. Are you OK?" he asked caressing her hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I love you Roger." she said wiping her face before leaning back.

"I love you too Mandy. Really everything is gonna be fine. I promise." he told her starting his car and pulling out of the driveway.

"I know. I believe you." she said smiling over at him.

"Baby, we're gonna have a baby." Roger called out excitedly.

"I know." she said taking his hand.

"Mandy I love you so much." he said holding her hand tight as they drove to the school.

"I know. I love you too Roger. More than you know." she said leaning into his arms.

"Don't worry Baby. I know." Roger whispered holding her tight.

"So what are we gonna do for 2 months?" she asked him looking up at him.

"We're gonna keep it secret until we get married. You wear my shirts anyway, so they're big on you. Don't worry Baby. Everything is gonna be fine." Roger told her caressing her head.

"We're gonna be someone's parents Roger." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, I know. It's gonna be great." he told her caressing her still flat belly.

"Roger, we can't tell anyone. Not Benny or Jocelyn or even Mark. Especially Mark. This isn't like him covering for me when I sneak out to watch the sunrise with you. This could really come back to bite us in the ass." Amanda told him caressing his hand.

"OK Baby. This will be our secret for now." Roger said leaning over to kiss her head.

"What do you think we'll have?" Amanda asked leaning against him.

"How about a girl? With blond hair and blue eyes like her mommy." he asked kissing her head.

"Or a boy with blond hair and green eyes like his rock star daddy." Amanda said looking up at him.

"Well whatever we have, we are gonna have the most loved baby in the world." he said caressing her face.

"Yes we will." she told him smiling as they caressed her belly.

"Baby, we have to get you to a doctor." Roger said looking down at her.

"We will. I'll make an appointment at the clinic. Don't worry Roger, everything is gonna be fine." she told him leaning up to kiss him.

"You're right Baby." he said kissing her again.

"I know I'm right. I always am." she said laughing as she hugged him.

* * *

"Well Miss Cohen, you are pregnant and it looks like you're 6 weeks and according to my calculations you're due in the middle of December." the female doctor told her as she and Roger smiled. "I take it this was planned." the doctor told them smiling.

"Not exactly, but we're in love so we're happy." Amanda told her smiling at Roger.

"Well you're gonna need prenatal vitamins and to come back in a month." the doctor said giving her a bottle of pills.

"Thank you doctor." Roger said as they left the doctors office.

"So we're having a winter baby?" Amanda said smiling up at him.

"Looks like." Roger said kissing her as they got into the car.

"Wow, 6 weeks." Amanda said smiling over at him.

"I know. That's wild. Are you OK?" he asked smiling over at her.

"Yeah, I only had morning sickness once so far. So hopefully it won't be so bad." she said laughing as he caressed her belly.

"Mandy we have to be careful when we do this, you know?" Roger said smiling down at her belly.

"I know Baby." she said laughing as she caressed his hand.

"I can't wait until we get married and move to the village." Roger said smiling at her.

"I know, me neither. We'll be around all the artists." she told him laughing.

"But we can't party like them. We'll have little Mandy girl." he said smiling at her.

"I'm not gonna let you name my son Mandy girl." she said laughing at him.

"Oh? Our son, huh? Well don't even think about naming him Roger. I've heard my mom yell it enough. I'm not gonna let the love of my life yelling at our son like that." Roger said laughing at her.

"We'll talk about it." she said smiling up at him.

"I have a feeling my sons name is gonna be Roger." he said smiling at her. When they arrived at Roger's house they went inside and went to his bedroom. "Mandy, I've been meaning to do something." he told her kneeling in front of her holding a ring box.

"What are you doing Roger?" she asked looking down at him.

"Amanda Lee Cohen, will you marry me." he said putting the ring on her left ring finger. It was small and had diamond chips but it was all he could afford.

"Oh Roger, this is beautiful. Of course I'll marry you." she told him excitedly looking down at the engagement ring Roger had just given her.

"You're beautiful." he said standing up to kiss her.

"I love you Roger." she said looking at her ring.

"I love you too Mandy." he said holding her in his arms. "And I love you too my little one. I am gonna love you so much." he said talking to Amanda's still flat belly.

"You are gonna make such a wonderful father, aren't you?" Amanda asked caressing his hair.

"I'm gonna try." he told her smiling up at her.

"We are gonna have the luckiest baby in the world with you as his daddy." she smiled as he leaned up to kiss her.

"And you're gonna be the best mommy." he smiled caressing her face.

* * *

"Mandy, you're ring." Roger reminded her as she got out of the car.

"Oh right. I keep forgetting." she smiled taking her ring off and putting it in the small pocket of her pocket book.

"I wouldn't want your parents to see it and freak out." he said looking up at her.

"I know. I can't wait until we can tell everyone." she smiled before leaning over to kiss him.

Me neither Baby." he whispered caressing her face.

"I'll call you after dinner, OK?" she said smiling at him.

"OK Baby, I love you." he smiled kissing her again.

"I love you too Roger." she laughed before rushing into the house.

"Mandy's home mom." Mark called out from the living room.

"Was she waiting for me?" she asked taking her bookbag off of her shoulder.

"Kind of." he said looking back down at his book.

"Do you know what it's about?" she asked sitting next to him.

"No, she didn't tell me. She just said to make sure I tell her when you get home." he said without looking up.

"Amanda, can we see you in the kitchen, please?" Mrs. Cohen called out from the other room.

"We? Dad's home?" she asked quietly as Mark nodded.

"Amanda, did you apply at NYU?" Mr. Cohen asked looking over at her as she entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, I did." she said looking up at him as she went into the refrigerator to get a glass of milk.

"I thought we discussed this. You were going to Brown." he said looking down at her.

"No dad, you discussed that I was going to Brown. I told you I wanted to go to NYU. It's not my fault you don't listen to me." she said drinking her milk as Mrs. Cohen sat at the chair.

"NYU is for Roger, isn't it?" he asked looking over at her.

"No daddy, NYU is for me. It was my idea." she said looking up at him as she put her glass on the counter.

"Well I don't like you going to NYU." he said walking over to the table to sit with his wife.

"Then it's a good thing I'm the one who's gonna have to go there dad. It's my life. I'm gonna be 18 soon and I can do whatever I want and if I want to go to NYU, I should be able to do that." she argued looking over at her.

"Is Roger going there too?" Mrs. Cohen asked looking up at her.

"No, we're gonna get an apartment and he's gonna work and I'm gonna go to school." she told them non chalantly.

"You are not moving in with him?" Mr. Cohen shouted standing up.

"Yes daddy, we are. We're in love and we want to be together. What's wrong with that? We're gonna be 18." she asked looking up at him.

"Amanda, I think you're moving a little too fast with Roger. You have only been dating for a little over a year. Maybe you should live in the dorms and let Roger get an apartment and you two just slow down a little bit." Mrs. Cohen suggested looking up at her.

"Mom, you can make all the suggestions you want, but it's ultimately mine and Roger's decision what we do." she told her before rushing up the stairs.

"What are we gonna do Marcus?" Mrs. Cohen asked looking over at him.

"I don't know, but I'm not liking this. She's changed so much since she started dating Roger." Mr. Cohen said looking over at his wife.

"She's too young to be this much in love with anyone." Mrs. Cohen said standing up.

"But she thinks she is." he said looking up at her as Mark listened in the doorway.

"Mandy, can I come in?" Mark asked knocking on Amanda's bedroom door.

"Yeah, come on in Marky." she called out wiping her eyes.

"Are you OK?" he asked sitting on Amanda's bed.

"Mom and dad just don't understand. I love Roger and we want to be together. I don't know why they won't let me go to NYU. It's mine and Roger's life." she cried into her hands.

"You said it yourself Mandy, you're gonna be 18 and you can do whatever you want." he said looking over at her.

"I know, I just thought mom and dad liked Roger. He's good to me and he we're in love Marky. I mean really in love." she said looking over at him.

"I know Mandy, it's just that mom and dad are worried about you. They think you've changed since you started dating Roger. And you have." Mark said looking over at her.

"But Marky, I changed for the better. He makes me feel like I can do anything, you know? I mean, I know who I am when I'm with him." she told him wiping her eyes.

"But you were a cheerleader before you started going out with him." he said moving closer to him.

"Yeah, but my friends were snobs. He didn't care that I was a cheerleader. All he cared about was that he liked me." she said looking up at him.

"Just slow down, OK?" he said looking over at her.

"I can't Mark. I love him and he loves me. He's my future." she said smiling up at him.

"I didn't know it was that serious." he said looking down at her.

"It is Marky." she said as he hugged her.

A/N: To clear something up for you readers, Roger proposed twice because the second time he had the ring and wanted to do it right. Sorry for the confusion.


	4. Chapter 4

"Amanda, are you OK?" Mrs. Cohen asked through the bathroom door.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. Roger and I just had chinese food last night." she started before opening the bathroom door. "Remind me not to get sushi again." she said trying to play it off.

"Should you stay home from school?" Mrs. Cohen asked feeling Amanda's head.

"No mom, I'm fine. My stomach is starting to settle now." she said looking up at her before going back into her room to finish getting ready. "Is Marky almost ready?" she asked coming out of her room with her bookbag slung over her shoulder.

"He walked to school early. He said something about a photography project." Mrs. Cohen said following her daughter down the stairs.

"OK Roger's gonna be here any minute." she said rushing around the downstairs making sure she had everything for school.

"Amanda, slow down. You need to eat breakfast." Mrs. Cohen said following her around.

"I don't have time mom. Plus I'm afraid if I eat anything it's gonna make me throw up again. I'll be OK. I'll pick up something later." she said looking out the front window for Roger's car.

"Make sure you eat something today. And drink plenty of water. You don't want to get dehydrated." Mrs. Cohen said as Roger pulled into the driveway.

"OK mom. I'll see you later. I'm going out to dinner with Roger, so I'll be home by curfew." she said rushing out of the house.

"Good morning Baby. How do you feel?" Roger asked as Amanda got in the car.

"Like crap. I have the worst morning sickness." she said looking down at her slightly swollen belly which was being hidden under one of Roger's big t-shirts.

"I'm sorry Mandy." he apologized looking over at her.

"Oh, if anyone asks, we had sushi last night." she said before Roger pulled out of the driveway.

"OK Baby." he said confused but obliging her.

"Do you think anyone can tell?" she asked looking over at him as he drove to school.

"I don't think so. It's not like anyone said anything. But I probably wouldn't hear it anyway." he said holding her hand.

"What if everyone finds out before we want them to? It'll ruin everything we have planned." she asked looking over at him.

"Mandy, relax. Everything is gonna be OK. Don't worry about it. We only have a couple of more weeks and then we'll be free to do whatever we want." he told her squeezing her hand.

"I know. I'm just really paranoid. I feel so fat and I feel like everyone can tell that I'm pregnant." she said looking over at him.

"You're not fat Mandy. You're beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen you so beautiful." he smiled before bringing her hand up to kiss it.

"You have to say that. We're getting married and I'm carrying your child." she laughed as he successfully lightened the mood.

"Nah, I always thought you were beautiful." he smiled before pulling into the school parking lot.

* * *

"Amanda Lee, what are you wearing on your finger?" Mrs Cohen asked putting her fork down.

"It's a ring mom." she replied continuing her dinner.

"I see that. Is it an engagement ring from Roger?" she asked reaching out for her daughters hand.

"Yes mom, it is. Roger and I love each other and want to get married one day." she told her smiling.

"But Amanda, you're only 17. You're too young to know what you want. I think you should go to college first and then see what you and Roger want to do. If you two are truly in love, you can get married in 4 years." Mrs. Cohen lectured as Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Mom, just because I'm 17 it doesn't mean I don't know when I'm in love. I've been dating Roger for over a year and a half. I love him and he loves me." Amanda argued grabbing her plate and bringing it to the kitchen.

"Amanda Lee, we're not done." Mrs Cohen shouted as Amanda ran upstairs.

"Yes we are mom. I'm not talking to you when you're like this." she said slamming her bedroom door.

"Mark, did you know about this?" Mrs. Cohen asked looking at Mark who was still eating.

"No mom, I didn't. And even if I did I wouldn't tell you. Mandy and Roger are my friends. I'm so sick of you and dad putting me in the middle all of the time. They purposely don't tell me things because you always ask me about them." he said getting up to put his plate in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Mark. I didn't know this was coming between you and your sister. I'm just used to you ratting Cindy out all of the time and I just figured since you and Amanda are so close, you'd know more. I'm sorry." she said as Mark stood in the kitchen.

"Well mom, it's hard. I mean Mandy used to tell me everything. Now she doesn't tell me anything because she's afraid you and dad are gonna make me tell you." Mark said looking down at her.

"OK Fair enough. Why don't you go make sure she's OK." she told him smiling.

"Thanks mom." he said smiling back at her as he went upstairs to check on Amanda. "Mandy, it's me. Can I come in?" he asked knocking on her door.

"Sure Marky. I'm sorry about before. I wanted to tell you myself, and I forgot to take my ring off. I've just had a lot on my mind lately." Amanda told him wiping her eyes sitting on her bed.

"It's OK. I understand why you and Roger didn't tell me. Congratulations." he told her smiling.

"Thanks Marky. I have something else I want to tell you." she said nervously.

"What's wrong Mandy?" he asked sitting on her bed.

"Marky, you can't tell mom and dad. It's very important you don't tell then anything." Amanda told him moving closer to him.

"Mandy what?" he asked impatiently.

"Marky, I'm pregnant and me and Roger are getting married next week on my birthday." she told him quietly.

"How? Mom and dad will never let you." Mark told her getting up to pace around the room.

"Marky, I'll be 18. They can't stop us." she told him as she got off the bed to follow him.

"And what about when mom and dad ask me where you are?" he asked hugging her.

"Just tell them. I don't want you to get in trouble. By that time it'll be too late. We'll already be married anyway." she told him smiling at him.

"I just hope you're happy and you know what you're doing." he told her looking at her.

"I am happy Marky. I want to be with Roger. We love each other so much and being together and raising our baby is all we want to do." she told him smiling back at him as he hugged her again.

"Good." he told her hugging her again.

"Oh, me and Roger got you an early birthday present." she said going into her closet.

"You guys didn't have to." he told her as she handed him her old green messenger bag.

"Yeah we did. It's not much, but the guy at the store said it was really good." she said as he opened the bag and took out an old black camera with a wind arm on it.

"This is so cool. I've been wanting one of these." he told her caressing it before winding it to film Amanda.

"I know. Now you can be a film maker." she said laughing as he filmed her.

"Thanks sis." he said hugging her.

* * *

"Mark, are you ever gonna put that thing away?" Benny asked as he filmed Roger and Amanda.

"Leave him alone Benny. He likes filming my girl. She was made to be on film." Roger said looking over at him with Mandy on his lap in the booth at the diner.

"Yeah Benny, lighten up. He's gonna be a famous filmmaker one day." she said smiling over at him. Her smile lit up the diner. She had told him that she was pregnant 3 days earlier and had been filming her and Roger ever since.

* * *

"What are you gonna wear tomorrow night?" Amanda asked laying in Roger's bed with him as he laid his head on her chest caressing her belly.

"I have the suit from the junior prom. What are you wearing?" he asked looking up at her.

"I bought a new dress. Nothing else fits me." she said running her fingers through his messy hair.

"Is it white?" he asked smiling.

"No, it's baby pink. I have to pick it up tomorrow." she said as he got up and laid back on the pillow.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked slipping his arm around her shoulders to bring her closer to him.

"No, you can't see it before you pick me up tomorrow night. It's bad luck." she said craning her neck back to look at him.

"Since when did you get so superstitious?" he asked laughing.

"I just don't want anything to go wrong tomorrow night." she said looking up at him.

"Nothing's gonna go wrong Mandy. We love each other and we're getting married tomorrow." he told her kissing her head.

"I do love you Roger." she smiled shifting to wrap her arms around him.

"I know Mandy. I love you too." she smiled leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

"Mom, I'm gonna go pick up my dress for my date tonight. I'll have the car back in time for you to pick up Marky." Amanda said rushing down the stairs.

"OK sweetie. Be careful." Mrs Cohen said coming out of the kitchen as she left the house.

"Surprise." Amanda said entering the garage where Roger worked.

"There's my beautiful bride and my baby." Roger said getting out from under the car and rushing towards her.

"Roger, not so loud." she said looking around.

"It's OK. I'm the only one here. I wanted to get this done before we leave tonight." he said kissing her before leaning down to kiss her now slightly swollen belly.

"I thought I'd surprise you while I was out picking up my dress." she told him smiling down at him.

"Well I love to be surprised by my girls." he said caressing her belly before sweeping her into his arms.

"Girls, huh? You're still on that?" she laughed caressing his head.

"Yeah I'm still on that. I'm so glad you're here." he smiled standing up straight.

"Well, now I have to go. I have a wedding to get ready for and my mom has to go pick up Mark." she said smiling at him as he kissed her again.

"OK Baby. I'll be by around 8. I just have to finish this up and then get cleaned up. I'll see you soon." he said leaning down to kiss her belly.

"I love you Roger." she said running her fingers through his hair.

"I love you too Mandy. And my baby." he said leaning up to kiss her. Amanda laughed and then left the garage. Roger finished up and cleaned himself up. He changed into his suit that he had brought to work with him to wear when he and Amanda got married that night. As he drove to the Cohen house he needed to take a detour because there was an accident not too far from the garage.

"Hi Mrs. Cohen, is Amanda ready?" Roger asked as the older woman answered the door.

"You mean she's not with you?" she asked looking around outside.

"No, she came by the garage to surprise me and then left to get ready for our date." Roger said clearly worried.

"She left 2 hours ago to pick up her dress. She said she'd be back in time for me to pick up Mark." she said beginning to cry.

"Oh my God. There was an accident on my way over." Roger said running to his car as Mrs. Cohen followed him.

"Roger wait." she shouted getting in the car with him.

"It can't be. It just can't be." he muttered running his fingers through his hair.

"Calm down Roger. It's probably not her." Mrs Cohen told him trying not to cry.

"No, it can't be her. It just can't be her." he said starting to cry now.

"I see lights." Mrs Cohen said pointing to the accident scene.

"I need to know." Roger said putting the car in park and getting out. "Excuse me, my girlfriend was in that car. Where is she?" he yelled seeing the wreckage of Mrs. Cohen's car.

"She's really bad. She was brought to the hospital." the police officer told him quietly as he shook his head.

"Roger is it her?" Mrs. Cohen shouted seeing Roger's face.

"They're at the hospital. It's bad." he answered crying uncontrollably.

"They who? Roger, was Mark with her?" Mrs. Cohen asked yelling at him as he ran back to his car.

"No Mrs. Cohen, Amanda and our baby." he said as they both got back in the car.

"Your baby? Amanda's pregnant?" she yelled as Roger drove to the hospital.

"Yeah, 3 and a half months. We're getting married tonight for her birthday." he told her crying.

"Oh my God Roger. Why didn't she tell me?" Mrs Cohen asked crying.

"We thought you'd never let us keep the baby if you knew." he told her still crying as they arrived at the hospital. Roger jumped out of the car and ran into the emergency room. "Amanda Cohen please. She was in a car accident. She's 18, has blond hair and is 3 and a half months pregnant." Roger asked hyserically as Mrs. Cohen followed him in a daze.

"Are you family?" the nurse asked looking up at him.

"She's my fiance and I'm the father of her baby, so yeah, I'm family." he yelled slamming his fist on the counter.

"I'm her mother. Can we see her?" Mrs. Cohen asked holding Roger's arm.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Cohen. Your daughters injuries were too severe. She didn't make it." a doctor informed them coming out to speak to them.

"No, it can't be. We're getting married and having a baby. She can't be gone. I love her." Roger cried as he fell to the floor.

"I'm so sorry." the doctor said standing over them.

"Oh my baby." Mrs. Cohen cried kneeling down to hold Roger.

"They can't be gone. They're my life." he cried with his head buried in his hands.

"I need to call Marcus. Oh my god, Mark." she cried rubbing Roger's back.

"Mark. I have to get him." Roger said getting up before running out of the hospital. He got in his car and drove tot he Scarsdale Jewish Community Center to get Mark from his film class.

"Roger, what are you doing here? How come you're not with Mandy? Where's my mom?" he asked getting into Roger's car.

"She's gone Mark. Mandy and the baby. They're gone." Roger said looking over at him.

"What are you talking about?" Mark asked confused.

"She got into an accident Mark. She came to see me and on her way home from the garage. She got into an accident." Roger said crying.

"No, she was fine earlier. She was excited about the wedding and raising your baby." Mark said as he began to cry.

"She came to see me in your moms car and then she was gonna go home and get ready." Roger said crying into his hands.

"No, Mandy doesn't like driving. She wouldn't..." Mark said in disbelief.

"Mark, she's gone. They both are. I promised to protect her and I couldn't." Roger said turning to him. His voice was hoarse from crying.

"Where is she Roger?" Mark asked wiping his eyes.

"At the hospital. Your mom's there. She called your dad." Roger told him wiping his eyes but still crying.

"I need to see her Roger." Mark said sitting up straight in his seat.

"OK Mark. We'll go see her." Roger said wiping his eyes again as he drove back to the hospital.

"What am I gonna do now? She's all I had." Mark told him crying again.

"I don't know Mark. She was my life. They both were." Roger said driving through his tears.

"I guess it's just you and me now." Mark replied wiping his eyes.

"I'll take care of you Mark. She always wanted me to." Roger said laughing to himself thinking about Amanda.

"Yeah, she always did want us to spend more time together." Mark said laughing and crying at the same time.

"We're here Mark." Roger said sitting outside the hospital as he began to cry again in his hands.

"I have to go in." Mark told him getting out of the car as Roger stayed in the car crying.

"Oh Mark. Amanda's gone." Mrs Cohen told him wrapping her arms around him.

"I know mom. Roger told me. He came and got me." Mark said crying into his mothers shoulder.

"Where's Roger?" Mrs. Davis asked looking at Mark.

"I'm right here mom. She's gone. Her and our baby are gone." he said crying as his mother wrapped her arms around him.

"I know, Mrs. Cohen told me sweetie. I'm so sorry." she told him caressing his back.

"I have to see them mom." Roger told her wiping his eyes with his arms.

"I'll talk to someone sweetie." Mrs. Cohen said going to the reception desk.

"I have to see them mom. Me and Mandy were gonna get married tonight. We were gonna be together and raise our baby." he told her crying more.

"I know sweetie. I'm so sorry." Mrs Davis asked crying with him.

"You can go in and see her for just a few minutes." Mrs Cohen said putting her arm around Roger.

"Thank you Mrs. Cohen. Can Mark come with me?" he asked wiping his eyes again.

"Sure sweetie." Mrs Cohen said as Roger looked at Mark and they both started walking towards the room she was in. There was a lot of blood. On her clothes and the sheets. Her face was paler then usual and she looked like she was sleeping.

"Hi Baby." Roger said crying as he took her hand. "I love you Mandy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry we can't get married and raise our baby together. I love you so much Mandy. I'll take care of Mark. I promise." Roger said gently kissing her lips one last time crying as he caressed her belly.

"Hey Mandy. Don't worry about Roger. I'll make sure he's OK. I'll be his best friend. We'll take care of each other. Just like you wanted us to." Mark said crying as he looked back at Roger. "I love you Mandy." he said kissing her cheek.

As Mark left the room, Roger stayed. He just sat next to her caressing her hand. He took the small wedding band out of it's box and placed it on her finger. "I love you Mandy. With all my heart and soul." he told her crying as he kissed her hand before getting up and leaving the room.

"Roger, sweetie are you OK?" Mrs. Davis asked as Roger wondered out of the room and towards the exit. He didn't say a word. He couldn't. He just left the hospital and sat in his car.

"I'll go with him." Mark said chasing after him.

"Mark, get the hell out of the car." Roger snarled as he wiped his eyes.

"Roger, what are you doing?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"I need to get out of here. Everything reminds me of her. What we had, what we could have had. Mark, I can't stay here. I need to get out of Scarsdale." Roger said beginning to cry again.

"But Roger, what about school? Your parents? Me? You can't just leave like this." Mark told him turning to him.

"I'm ditching it. All of it. There's nothing here for me anymore. Mandy was the only thing that made Scarsdale bearable and now she's gone. I can't be here anymore." Roger told him still crying.

"Where are you gonna go?" Mark asked crying with him.

"The city. Mandy always believed I could be a rock star and I'm gonna do it. For her. I have to." Roger told him wiping his eyes again.

"Well make sure you call me when you get there. How am I supposed to keep my promise to my sister if I never see you again?" Mark asked wiping his eyes.

"I will Mark. I just can't stay here anymore. There's too much of her here." Roger said starting his car before wiping his eyes again.

"OK Roger. Take care. Be careful." Mark told him opening the door.

"Thanks Mark. Just give me a head start OK? I have to get my stuff and then I'm going. Just tell them I needed time to myself." Roger told him holding Marks arm before he left the car.

"OK. I owe you. You made her happy you know. Happier than I ever thought she'd be." Mark said smiling faintly at him.

"She made me happy too. You have no idea." Roger said quietly looking up at him. As he pulled away from the hospital he went back to his house and took everything of value. He grabbed all of his clothes and threw them in his duffle bag and gathered up all of the pictures and momentums of Amanda he had. He looked around and left for the city.


	5. Chapter 5

2 Years Later

Mark showed up on Roger's doorstep. He had enrolled in NYU for filmmaking and Roger was living in an industrial loft with Benny, who had since broken up with Jocelyn, and another guy named Tom Collins, like the drink. Roger was in a band and was drinking heavily. He hadn't dated anyone since Amanda and had refused to even entertain the notion.

"Marky boy, what are you doing here?" Roger asked clearly drunk.

"I called you yesterday, remember? I start school next week." Mark asked confused with his bags next to him holding his green messenger bag.

"Oh right. Sorry, long night." Roger said holding the loft door open for him.

"Rog, it's 1:30 in the afternoon." Mark said bringing his stuff inside.

"OK, really long night. How are you Mark? I missed you." Roger laughed hugging him.

"Roger, are you OK?" Mark asked looking up at him. He smelled of alcohol.

"Yeah, never better. Just still partying from last night." Roger told him plopping down on the couch.

"Well Roger, you shouldn't be drinking so much, it's dangerous." Mark said looking over at him.

"Yeah well Marky, what else am I gonna do? If I don't drink, I can't see her." he told him quietly as he took another sip of his beer.

"What do you mean you can't see her? See who?" Mark asked confused.

"Mandy. I miss her so much Mark. I'm starting to forget her." Roger said starting to cry into his hands.

"Roger, I'm sorry." Mark said rubbing Roger's back as Benny and another guy entered the loft.

"Rog, are you OK? Is it Mandy again." the other guy asked rushing over to him.

"How do you know about Mandy?" Mark asked quietly looking up at Benny.

"He's been like this for 2 years. He never got over losing her. First it was the depression and not this.When he drinks, he gets worse." Benny told him as the other guy hugged Roger.

"He told me he drinks because he misses her." Mark said getting up to go by Benny.

"He's trying to hold on to her. He's afraid he's gonna lose her again. Collins is the only one who can talk him down when he gets like that." he told him watching Roger crumble in front of them.

"I had no idea. Whenever I spoke to him he said he was fine." Mark told him watching Roger sympathetically.

"Yeah, he plays off the bad ass rock star in front of everyone else. But here he's like this. We try not to leave him alone, but sometimes we have to." Benny told him folding his arms.

"It's OK Rog. She loves you and wants you to be OK. You need to stop drinking and move on. This is not what she wanted for you." Collins said rubbing Rogers back as he cried into his chest.

"I don't want to move on. What if I forget her? She's the love of my life Collins. We were gonna get married and raise our baby together here." Roger said crying.

"Roger, she's gone man. You need to let go and move on. You won't forget her, you just need to learn how to live your life without her. It'll be OK. She won't be mad." Collins told him quietly rocking him back and forth.

"I'll try. I need to go to bed now. I'm really tired." Roger said getting up and stumbling to his room.

"Do you think he means it this time?" Collins asked looking over at Benny.

"No. You never saw them together Collins. They were Romeo and Juliet without the drama. From the day Roger asked Mandy out they were connected at the lips and the heart. Man, they were great together. Mandy gave up cheerleading because her friends didn't like Roger. The night she died, they were gonna get married. Mandy was on her way home from surprising Roger at work when she..." Benny told him unable to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, they were each others worlds. They breathed for one another." Mark chimed in looking at him.

"Now who are you?" Collins asked looking at Mark.

"Oh sorry Collins. This is Mark Cohen." Benny told him introducing the men.

"Cohen? As in Mandy's younger brother? I'm so sorry man." Collins said looking at Mark sympathetically.

"Thank you. I'm OK. I'm just glad she's not here to see Roger like this. She would have kicked his ass if she saw him doing this to himself." Mark said pointing in the direction of Roger's bedroom.

"He just loves her so much. Living without her is impossible to think about right now." Collins told him quietly.

"Yeah, but like this? No, he should be honoring my sister and their child instead of drowning himself in the bottom of a bottle. She wanted him to be a rock star because she believed in his talent. He left Scarsdale because everything reminded him of her. So he came here, for what? To keep her alive as an excuse to be a drunk? No, my sister never would have let him get away with this." Mark ranted pacing the room as tears fell from his eyes.

"So what are you gonna do Mark." Benny asked watching him.

"I'm gonna do the only thing I can. Take care of him like I promised my sister I would." Mark said looking out the window.

"Mark, a lot's changed. He's not the old Roger that we grew up with. He's not Mandy's Roger anymore. He's different." Benny said looking over at him.

"He's in there. He'll always be Mandy's Roger. I saw them Benny, remember? I live with them." Mark said looking up at him.

"I guess if anyone can find him, you can Mark." Collins said looking over at him.

"I have to. I owe it to my sister. She was everything to me and they were everything to each other. She would have never wanted to see him like that." he said wiping his eyes.

* * *

"Roger, are you OK?" Mark asked as Roger stumbled out of his room shortly before 9 that night.

"Yeah Mark, I'm fine. I'm sorry about before. Things just get... you know." he said going to the kitchen to make coffee.

"I know Roger, but she wouldn't want to see you like this." Mark said getting off of the couch and going towards the kitchen.

"Mark, you have no idea what it's like. One minute we were gonna get married and have a baby and the next minute, she's gone. Her and our baby. Mark, I just don't know how to live without her." Roger argued looking over at him.

"Yeah Roger, I do know. She was my sister and my best friend." Mark yelled looking up at him as he pushed his glasses up onto his face.

"Mark, she was my whole life. Before her, I was a freak. She made me who I was." Roger yelled moving closer to him.

"And now look at you. You're a drunk who's using my sister to continue being a drunk." Mark yelled pushing him back.

"You know Mark, you can go live in the dorms if you don't want to see any part of this. I don't need you to babysit me." Roger yelled getting in Mark's face.

"No, but I promised my sister that I would take care of you and unlike you, I don't plan on going back on a promise I made." Mark yelled not backing down.

"Well who the hell told you to promise to take care of me?" Roger asked walking away from him.

"You were the love of her life. I'm not gonna let you kill yourself just because she's gone." Mark yelled as Roger ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm trying Mark, but I can't live without her. You don't get it. My whole life I had no one until she came along. She saw who I was and loved me. I could be myself with her and she didn't walk away from me. I love her Mark. I need her in my life and she's not here. And she's never gonna be here again." he said crumbling to the floor in tears.

"I know Roger. She was always there to stick up for me to Margaret and them. She never let them give me a hard time and she never ditched me when they told her that I wasn't cool enough to be seen with her." Mark said looking down at him.

"Yeah, she quit the squad for me because they didn't like me. I never wanted her to do that, but she said that they were snobs and she wasn't gonna let them dictate who she dated." he said looking up at him as he hugged his legs close to his chest.

"She once told me that being with you made her feel like the most special girl in the world." Mark said squatting down next to him.

"She is Mark. Even now. I look at other girls and realize that I'm never gonna find anyone like her again. I don't want anyone else but her." Roger said beginning to cry again.

"Roger, she would want you to move on you know. You were the love of her life. She would never want you to be miserable like this." Mark whispered putting his arms around him.

"I can't think about that right now Mark. I still love her. I can't think about being with anyone else. I'd be cheating on her." Roger argued breaking away from him before getting off of the floor and going to his room.

"Roger." Mark called out getting up.

"Not now Mark. I don't want to talk about this anymore." he yelled slamming his door.


	6. Chapter 6

"Roger, do you remember this?" Mark asked sitting on the couch as he handed a picture to Roger who was sitting on the arm chair.

"The Halloween dance. I can't believe she talked me into dressing up as Sid and Nancy with her." Roger laughed despite the tears that filled his eyes.

"She had a way of getting you to do a lot of things you never thought you'd do." Mark told him happily passing him more pictures.

"Well I loved her with all my heart Mark. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her." Roger said crying as he looked at all of the old pictures of him and Mandy.

"So quit drinking, for her. She never wanted you miserable like this. You can't keep doing this to yourself." Mark told him as Roger caressed the picture.

"I know Mark. I just miss her so much. I don't know how to live without her." Roger said holding the pictures close to him.

"Roger, this isn't the way. You can't keep doing this." Mark told him quietly looking over at him.

"Mark, I don't know how." Roger told him crying.

"So let me do what I told my sister I would." Mark said smiling at him.

"Thanks Mark." Roger said crying more as he looked at the pictures again.

"No problem. I promised Mandy I'd take care of you." Mark told him as Collins and Benny entered the loft.

"What did we miss?" Benny asked seeing Roger crying.

"I'm fine. Really. Collins, do you want to see me and Mandy dressed as Sid and Nancy?" Roger asked wiping his eyes.

"I'd love to." Collin said smiling as he went over to Roger to look at the pictures. "Even in punk she was beautiful." Collins said laughing as he looked at them so happy.

"Yeah, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. I told her I loved her the for the first time that night." Roger told him staring at the picture.

"Really? That's sweet." he said smiling at him.

"She was so happy that night." Mark said smiling at him.

"You two look happy." Collins said looking over Roger's shoulder.

"We were." Roger said smiling. "Thanks Mark." Roger said leaning over to pat Mark on the back.

"No problem Roger." Mark said smiling at him.

* * *

"Mark, do you want to come to the show?" Roger asked knocking on Mark's bedroom door.

"Nah, I can't. I have a huge final coming up and I really need to study." Mark said looking up from his book.

"OK. I'll see you later." Roger told him smiling. His hair was cropped very short and bleached blond and he was wearing eye liner and a yellow sleeveless shirt.

"OK, Have a great show." Mark told him smiling.

"Thanks." Roger said before leaving the loft. That night at the club he met a pretty redhead. Her name was April. He didn't get home until 4 in the morning.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting up for you." Mark asked worried.

"I was just hanging out with this girl I met." Roger said quietly.

"Roger, that's great. Who is she?" Mark asked smiling at him.

"April. She's this redhead I've had my eye on for a while. But I've been afraid to talk to her." Roger told him smirking.

"Good for you Roger. I'm glad you met someone." Mark said pouring himself some water.

"I feel weird though. I mean Mandy was the love of my life. I still love her Mark. Is it bad that I like April too?" Roger asked following him into the kitchen.

"No Roger, it's not. The only thing Mandy ever wanted for you was for you to be happy. Don't feel bad for moving on. It's been almost 3 years. I think you've honored her memory." Mark said as Roger looked down.

"I'll always lover her Mark. You do know that, right?" Roger said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I know Roger. I just want you to be happy now." Mark said smiling up at him.

"Thanks Mark." Roger told him going into his room.

* * *

"Roger, what the hell is wrong with you?" Mark asked yelling at him standing over his bed as Benny and Collins stood in the doorway.

"Mark, what the hell?" Roger asked groggy and strung out.

"It's 3 in the afternoon. Are you drinking again?" Mark asked as Roger pulled the blanket over his head.

"I'm not drinking again Mark. Me and April just had a late night." Roger said looking up at Mark.

"Yeah shooting up." Benny said under his breath.

"Shut the fuck up Benny. You don't know what you're talking about." Roger yelled getting up out of bed. He was still wearing his black button up shirt and blue jeans. His hair was sticking up in all directions.

"I know. I saw your track marks the other day." Benny said as Roger came after him before Collins stepped in front of him.

"You didn't see shit, asshole." Roger yelled being held back by Collins.

"Track marks, shooting up? Roger what the hell is going on with you? You stopped drinking to shoot up heroin? What the hell is April doing to you?" Mark yelled as Roger calmed down.

"Mark, I'm fine. I'm not a junkie." Roger told him quietly.

"Roger, you gotta stop. Mandy wouldn't want this." Mark said as Roger got angry.

"Well Mark, Mandy's not here. She left me. She left me Mark and I'm still here. So now I have April." Roger said going into his room and slamming the door.

"She didn't leave you Roger, she died." Mark yelled to the closed door of Roger's bedroom.

"That should have worked." Collins said turning to Mark.

"I guess that card is played out." Benny said as Mark started towards his room.

"Yeah well we wanted him to move on, so he's moving on." Mark said quietly closing his bedroom door.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Collins asked sitting on the couch.

"I don't know. But I have a feeling he's gonna fight us." Benny said sitting next to him.

"Yeah and I have a feeling Mark's not gonna give up so easily." Collins said with his head in his hands.

"Yeah well I'm about to. I'm not gonna have him use my friends death as an excuse to self destruct." Benny said pacing around the loft as Roger stormed out of his room.

"Where the hell are you going?" Collins asked looking up at him.

"I'm getting out of here. You can't respect my privacy, I'm gone." he told him violently putting his leather jacket on.

"Where are you gonna go? To shoot up with April?" Benny said angrily.

"What of it? Everyone wanted me to move on and now that I am, you throw Mandy in my face. You know it wasn't easy losing her and our baby, but I'm moving on with April. So what if I do a little heroin every once in a while. I'm fine guys." Roger said standing by the door.

"But Roger, what about diseases? HIV, Hepititis? You need to think about that." Collins asked approaching him.

"We got tested Collins. We're waiting for the results. Don't worry about it. I just need to get out of here for a little while. Take care of Mark." Roger said running out of the loft.

"At least he's getting tested." Collins said facing Benny.

"Yeah at least. Maybe he'll kill himself so he could finally be with Mandy." Benny said looking around the loft catching Mark out of the corner of his eye.

"Benny, how can you say that? You've been friends with him since Jr. High." Mark said with tears in his eyes.

"Mark, he's been tortured since he lost Mandy and the baby. First the depression, then the drinking,

now the drugs. Mark, he was the happiest when he and Mandy were together. Maybe we should just let him kill himself." Benny said as Mark looked at him in disbelief.

"No. Benny how can you say that? I promised Mandy I'd take care of him and I'm not doing so well. I owe it to my sister to get him off the drugs and make sure he makes it big as a rock star. It's what she wanted." Mark said crying as Collins comforted him.

"I know, but Mark I don't think this is about your sister anymore. I think Roger is just out here under the sex, drugs and rock and roll spell." Collins said holding Mark.

"It's always about Mandy. They were connected. They were made for each other Collins. You never saw them. Roger was so different with her." Mark said looking up at him.

"I know Mark. You just need to let this run it's course." Collins told him.

"I can't do that Collins. I owe him. He made my sisters last 2 years the greatest of her life." Mark told him sniffling.

"I know Marky. I know." Collins told him patting his head.

"I have to help him Collins. For my sister, I have to." he told him wiping his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Mark was alone going over some reels of film. He hadn't looked at these reels since he edited them 3 years earlier. They were of Roger and Amanda. She had told him she was pregnant a week before her birthday and he didn't know how his parents were gonna take the news that she and Roger had gotten married on her 18th birthday and that she was pregnant, so Mark wanted to take as much film as possible. Even with that hanging over them, she was so happy. They both were. They looked like they didn't have a care in the world. He tried to get that entire last week on film. His sister had a way of lighting up a room. Not many people in their school approved of her dating Roger at first. Her friends almost made it impossible for her, but she didn't care. She liked Roger and didn't think the fact that she was a cheerleader and he was a metal head was a big enough reason not to date him. Mark was deep in thought when the phone rang. Collins was out with his new boyfriend Todd or Tad or something and Benny was with his girlfriend Allison and his girlfriend Maureen was visiting her family.

"Hello." Mark answered smiling at the reel that was playing. It was Amanda and Roger at the diner. They were feeding each other french fries and they were laughing. He remembered Amanda's infectious laugh. Once she got started everyone had to join in. Roger was so happy. He was holding her in his arms and his hand was placed on the slightly swollen belly that held his child. He would give anything to see his friend even half that happy again.

"Mark, you have to come over." Roger said with barely a whisper. He sounded horrible. Mark hadn't seen Roger in almost a week, so God only knew what he was doing to himself. Hearing his voice snapped him out of his memories.

"Roger. Roger what's wrong? What happened? Where are you?" he asked taking his attention away from his film.

"Mark, you have to come over. It's April. Something happened." Roger whispered sniffling.

"Roger what happened. Tell me. Where's April? Let me talk to April." Mark insisted staring at his sisters smiling face on the wall.

"You can't Mark. April...She's dead Mark. And so am I." he told him beginning to cry again.

"Roger, I'm coming over. Don't do anything stupid. Do you hear me? Roger tell me you heard me." Mark screamed into the phone scared for Roger.

"Mhm, I heard you Mark." she told him through his tears.

"I'm coming." Mark yelled hanging up the phone before rushing out of the loft. Leaving his film running. All he couldn't think about on the way to April's apartment was Amanda. How could Roger have wound up like this? He came from a good home in a good neighborhood. He never did drugs before coming to the city. Sure drugs were around, but he didn't need them. He had Amanda. "How could this be happening to him?" he asked himself as he walked towards April's apartment. "Mandy, I'm trying to take care of him, but I need a little help. Please. You know how heartbroken he is over you. You have to help me help him. Please." he begged talking to his sister in his head. As he approached the building he could only imagine what he was gonna find. April on the bed or the floor with a needle sticking out of her arm and Roger half out of it. He opened the front door and went up the 3 flights of stairs to her apartment and started pounding on the door. "Roger, it's Mark. Open the door." he yelled as he heard the door unlock. As Roger opened the door the sight of him frightened Mark. He was thinner than he was a week earlier and his eyes were dull and sad and he was covered in blood. "Roger, where's April?" Mark asked pushing past Roger panicked. Roger didn't say anything. He just pointed to the bathroom. "Oh my God, Roger what the hell happened?" Mark asked brushing his fingers through his short blond hair as he looked in the bathroom. April was laying on the floor half leaning against the bathtub. There was blood everywhere and she was paler than usual. Roger still said nothing. He simply handed him the note April left for him. "What is this?" he asked looking down at it. _We've Got AIDS!!!_ is all the note said. "Roger, say something. What does this mean?" Mark asked frustrated with Roger's silence.

"I woke up and I found her like this. She was going to the clinic to get her HIV test results. We're positive." he told him quietly not looking him in the eye.

"You're what?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"I have AIDS Mark. My life is over. April gave me AIDS." he told him a little louder.

"OK, you're telling me that April killed herself and you have HIV?" Mark asked attempting to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Yes." he told him looking down.

"I have to call the police Roger. Go get cleaned up." Mark told him as he picked up the phone. He couldn't believe the mess Roger got himself into. "OK Mandy, what am I supposed to do now?" Mark asked her in his head as he dialed the phone. "Roger's dying and he's hooked on heroin. How do you expect me to clean this mess up?" he asked looking up.

"Mark, I'm sorry. I really fucked everything up, huh?" he said coming out of April's bedroom.

"Roger, I really need to do this. We'll deal with this later." Mark said as Roger sat on the couch.

"How did this happen to me?" Roger asked quietly staring into space.

"Roger, you've had a rough time of it these last 3 years, but we have to get you passed this." Mark said hanging up the phone and sitting on the couch next to him.

"I don't want to get passed it Mark. I'm done. I'm ready to die. I want to be with Mandy and our baby now." he told him as tears poured out of his eyes.

"Roger, listen to me. I know you miss her. I miss her, but you have to go on. We both do. She wanted to come here so you could be a rock star. I remember how excited she was whenever she used to watch you perform. And you never took your eyes off of her. You were a rock god to her and she was your groupie." Mark told him smiling thinking about it.

"She was my muse Mark. And now look at me. She's gone, April's dead and I'm dying." he told him burying his face in his hands crying.

"I know. But everything is gonna be OK. I mean, I'm sorry about April, but I'm gonna help you get off of the heroin." Mark told him putting his arm around Roger's shoulder.

"Why Mark? I'm dead anyway. Just like Mandy and April." he yelled getting up.

"Why? Because I loved my sister and she loved you. She always knew you were gonna do great things. Just because she's gone and your HIV positive doesn't mean you're allowed to give up. Do you think shes would want you to give up like this?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Mark, this is just getting way too hard. I fucked up my life and now I'm gonna die because of it." he told him staring at the closed bathroom door.

"They have medicine for HIV now. You could take it and live longer." Mark told him getting up.

"Live longer for what? To die?" he asked looking over at him.

"Oh I don't know, maybe put your life back together, so one of the last memories of the love of my sisters life isn't this strung out junkie you've turned into you." Mark yelled pacing the apartment.

"For what? So I can fucking die anyway. I just wanna be done with this life already. I'm sick of being dumped on. First I lost my precious Mandy and our child and then April gets me hooked on heroin and now she gives me AIDS and then kills herself. I'm just sick of it." Roger yelled back before running out of the apartment leaving Mark to call the police and deal with the aftermath of April's suicide.

"OK Mandy, what do I do now? Tell me. You see him. How am I supposed to fix that, huh?" he yelled looking up as he started crying. Here he was, barely 19 and he was watching his best friend slowly take his life. He needed Amanda's help. He needed her to help him get through to Roger. He didn't think taking out the pictures would quite work this time. He had to think of something else. As he was thinking, the police arrived and took his statement before taking April's body away. When everyone was gone, he went through April's room to pack up all of Roger's things before leaving to go find Roger.

* * *

"Where the hell could he be? He left April's 6 hours ago." Mark asked pacing around the loft as Collins sat slumped on the couch.

"I don't know Mark, but you asking every 5 minutes where he is isn't getting him home quicker." Collins said getting frustrated.

"I'm sorry Collins. I'm just really worried about him. He just found out he's HIV positive and his girlfriend just killed herself." Mark said as the door to the loft slid open. It was Roger. He looked like he had been shooting up. "Roger, where the hell have you been?" Mark asked rushing over to him.

"Not now Mark. I'm going to bed. I'll talk to you later." he said without looking up at him.

"Later when? April just killed herself and you go out to shoot up." Mark yelled as Roger looked up at him. His eyes were soaked from tears.

"And she killed me too Mark. What else is there?" he asked wiping his eyes.

"You can live with this rather than die from it, you know? I went to the clinic around the corner and got you some things." he said going towards the kitchen where there were pamphlets sitting on the metal counter.

"Mark, I just found out I'm positive, can you not act like an after school special please?" he asked getting angry.

"Roger, just read them. You're not gonna die. At least not yet." he told him looking over at him.

"Just drop it. I need to get some sleep." Roger yelled going into his room and slamming the door.

"What the hell do we do now?" Mark asked looking over at Collins.

"I don't know Mark, but you need to let Roger take care of Roger." he said getting up off of the couch.

"We've been over this Collins. Roger just wants to die and I'm not about to let that happen. I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure Roger survives this." he said running his fingers through his hair.


	8. Chapter 8

"What do you want me to do Mark? I've been watching him destroy himself for almost 4 years using your sister as an excuse. I can't do it anymore. I'm done." Benny yelled going into his room as Collins sat on the couch silently.

"What the hell am I gonna do? I can't do this alone." Mark said looking at Collins.

"Mark, we can't help him until he wants to be helped. Otherwise, we're just fighting a losing battle." Collins told him calmly.

"Why am I the only one who wants to help him?" Mark asked pacing the apartment.

"Because he doesn't want us to help him. You tried everything. He just keeps going out and using. Nothing is working." Collins told him looking back at him.

"How did it get this far? I was supposed to be the one to take care of him. I promised her I would." he told him sitting on the window seat.

"Mark, you can't beat yourself up. Roger did this to himself. You are not responsible for him. He's a grown man." Collins said getting up to join him.

"Collins, she was my best friend. How am I supposed to let the love of her life die like this?" he said looking over at him.

"He wants to die Mark. He's never been the same since she died." Benny yelled coming out of his room.

"Do you remember the day he asked her out Benny?" Mark asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I do. But he's not that guy anymore." he answered looking over at him.

"Did you know that Roger asked me if I thought she would say yes before he even asked her out? God he was so nervous. I mean, here he was, one of the coolest guys in school and he was coming up to me asking me if my sister was seeing anyone. He looked like he was gonna throw up or something." Mark said looking at Collins as he remembered that day in school.

"I never pictured Roger being nervous when it came to asking a girl out." Collins said laughing.

"Oh he was. He'd been talking about asking her out since the 7th grade." Benny laughed looking up at him.

"And then you should have seen him when I accidentally told Mandy that he was nervous about asking her out. He was so embarrassed." Mark told him smiling as tears came to his eyes.

"What did she say?" he asked smiling over at him.

"She thought it was sweet. She thought everything he did was sweet. And when he was with her he was. You should have seen him. You wouldn't have recognized him then." he said smiling back at him.

"She did. It was sickening." Benny laughed looking over at him as Mark got a real serious look on his face.

"Mark, I understand you wanting to help him. I really do. But you lost her too. It's not fair that you feel so responsible for him." Collins said putting his hand on Mark's shoulder.

"The night she... my mom was supposed to pick me up from my film class at the community center, but she was late and then Roger pulled up. When he told me she was gone, I felt like the world had ended. My sister Cindy never wanted me around and me and Mandy were so close. I never thought I would get through her death. And then me and Roger got to the hospital and he wanted me to go in with him to see her. You should have heard him. He kept telling her how much he loved her and their baby and how he was never gonna forget them. And he kept apologizing to her. He felt like the accident was his fault. She hated driving but she had to pick up her wedding dress and she didn't want him or my mom to see it, so she went out alone. She went to the garage where Roger worked to surprise him before he was coming to pick her up. She was on her way home to get ready when this drunk driver ran a stop sign and hit her really hard. The cops said she never had a chance. He hit the drivers side door. Her and the baby died almost instantly. I told her I'd take care of him. She always wanted us to be friends. But how could a friend let him get this far gone?" Mark explained crying uncontrollably.

"You didn't let him. He let himself. Numbing the pain of losing her and their child is the only way he can breath. He needs to deal with losing her before he can actually move on." Collins told him comforting him.

"How can he deal with her death if he's high all the time?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"He'll wake up. You'll see." Collins told him wiping Mark's tears.

"Yeah, when? April killed herself 9 months ago. He hasn't been to a doctor. He doesn't have medicine. At this rate, he's gonna die just like he wants to." Mark told him sniffling.

"When he's ready, then he'll deal with it." Collins told him as Roger stumbled into the loft and went straight into his room.

"I'm gonna go in and talk to him." Mark said wiping his eyes as he went to Roger's room.

"Do you think that's such a good idea? Now?" he asked looking over at him.

"Do you have a better time?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"I guess not. Good luck." Collins said going into his room.

"Roger, it's Mark, I'm coming in." he told him opening the door. When he entered the room, Roger was laying on the bed. He was rolled up into a little ball crying and he was shaking. "Roger, we need to talk." he said carefully approaching the bed.

"Can it wait Mark? I'm kind of not feeling too hot." Roger begged as Mark put a blanket over him.

"Roger, what's the matter? Are you sick?" he asked feeling his head.

"I'm fine Mark, it's just been a while since I scored and I really need it." he told him wiping his eyes as he pulled the blanket tighter around him.

"No you're not Roger. You're going through withdrawal." Mark told him sitting on the bed.

"Yeah well, I don't want to go through withdrawal. I need to score." he told him angrily before laying back down and clutching his stomach in pain.

"Roger we need to talk." Mark said looking down at him.

"What do you want Mark?" Roger asked shivering.

"You need help. You can't keep using and avoiding the fact that you have HIV. You really need to get to a doctor and get off of the heroin." he told him firmly.

"Mark, now's really not the best time." Roger told him in pain.

"Well Roger, I'm really sick and tired of watching you go on like this. Mandy wouldn't like seeing you like this." Mark told him as Roger struggled to sit up.

"Don't you talk about her. I don't want to hear anyone talk about her. She doesn't belong here. She was kind and gentle and pure." he yelled before grabbing his stomach again.

"I get to talk about her Roger. She was my sister and I lost her too. I lost both of them. I loved them too, you know. You act like you're the only one who lost them. You're not. You're the only one not honoring them. Do you think Mandy and your child would want to see you like this? Killing yourself. Wasting away like this?" Mark yelled getting off of the bed breaking down as Roger did too.

"Mark, I was gonna spend the rest of my life making her happy and loving her. I decided that when I was 16 years old. And now they're gone and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with my life anymore. The songs I wrote were for her. Every breath I took was for her. I can't do it Mark. God, you say you're my friend but you don't act much like one when you expect me to go on after losing them. Nothing that happens to me could ever compare to what happened to me that night. The night that was supposed to be the greatest night of my life. The night I was supposed to marry her, became the worst night of my life. Nothing can compare to that. I just want it to be over with. Why can't you understand that?" Roger yelled crying to him.

"Roger, I wanna show you something." Mark said wiping his eyes before grabbing Roger's arm.

"What the hell Mark?" Roger asked resisting him.

"Roger, you better walk or I'm gonna drag you." he yelled as Collins came to the door to see what all the yelling was.

"Mark, what are you doing?" Collins asked looking down at him.

"Doing what I should have done a long time ago, but was too afraid to." he told him as he and Roger went into the living room.

"Let go of me Mark." Roger yelled as Mark threw him on the couch.

"You're gonna watch this and listen to what I have to say." Mark told him putting the movie on. "Look at you two." he yelled pointing to the sheet hanging on the wall where the images of Roger and Amanda were.

"I can't watch this Mark." he told him looking away.

"You have to watch it Roger. Look at her. Would she love this strung out junkie you turned the man she loves into." he yelled at him still pointing at the sheet.

"Mark turn it off." Roger yelled seeing himself and Amanda laughing at the diner on the screen.

"Why? You can't stand to watch this? Seeing how happy you two were? Look at it Roger. That's who you are. Not this pathetic excuse for a man you are now." Mark yelled as Benny came out of his room.

"Mark, what are you doing? Are you trying to throw him over the edge?" Benny asked rushing to the projector as Collins stopped him.

"No Benny, he has to watch this." he told him as Mark held Roger down.

"Look at her Roger. The love of your life. She was carrying your child then. You mean to tell me this is the man you want to be for them?" Mark yelled as Roger quit struggling and directed his attention to the sheet.

"She was so beautiful, wasn't she?" Roger said crying as he watched her. She was playing with his hair as he was holding her in his arms.

"Yeah she was Roger. And she loved you. More than anything in the world." Mark told him as tears formed in Benny's eyes watching her.

"Jocelyn and I were so jealous of you two, you know?" Benny told him smiling at the screen.

"You were?" Roger asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, everybody was. You guys were perfect together. You never fought and you knew you wanted to be together. You were the spotlight of every school dance." Benny told him sitting down.

"That was because of Mandy. She was so beautiful and full of life. She gave me a chance." he told him watching the film. Mandy was sitting on Roger's lap and he was nuzzling her neck.

"I remember your first date." he told him smiling.

"At the pizzeria. She told off Margaret and the bitch squad that day." Roger remembered smiling at him.

"Yeah, they never really liked you." Benny said starting to laugh.

"That's because I told her that my girl was a better cheerleader than her and the only reason why she was head cheerleader was because Mandy quit." Roger told him laughing.

"You actually told her that?" Collins asked laughing.

"Yeah, she was giving Mandy a hard time for dating me. She quit the squad because of it." he said looking up at him.

"She quit the squad for you?" Collins asked moving closer to him.

"Yeah, and then one morning I took her out for breakfast and Margaret was there. We had been dating for 4 months then and I was getting sick of her hasseling Mandy. I loved Mandy. I hated seeing her have to put up with that for loving me back." Roger told him as he watched himself give Mandy a piggy back ride on film.

"But she didn't mind. I remember Jocelyn one time asked her why she put up with all the crap Margaret, Addie and Jamie gave her over dating you and do you know what she told her?" Benny asked leaning forward as Roger shook his head no. "She told her that it was because loving you and being loved by you was worth dealing with anything the world threw at you. That what you guys had was the real thing." he told him smiling as Roger crumbled to the floor.

"Why did she have to leave me?" he asked between sobs.

"She didn't leave you Roger, she died. She never would have left you. She loved you more than anything in the world. But she loved that you, not the one you are now." Mark told him sitting on the floor next to him.

"I know. I fucked myself up pretty bad, huh?" he asked looking up at Mark.

"Yeah you did. But you can change. All you have to do is want to." he told him putting his arms around him.

"She would have really kicked my ass, wouldn't she have?" he asked beginning to smile.

"Yeah, she would have. If she ever saw you like this, you would have so been dead." Mark told him laughing.

"I know. Did you know, I never did any drugs in high school. I never wanted to. I had her. She made me so happy." he told him wiping his eyes.

"I know Roger. You need to get to a doctor and quit the heroin." Mark told him as Roger looked down.

"I know. I don't want to die. I have to be a rock star. That's what she wanted me to do." he told him beginning to smile.

"She was willing to go to NYU so you could do it." Benny told him smiling down at him.

"Will you help me Mark?" he asked looking up at him.

"Of course I will Roger. I'll help you." Mark told him as he picked Roger up and they all watched the rest of the reel.


	9. Chapter 9

"Roger, don't make me kill you man." Collins called out as Roger bolted for the door.

"Just one, Collins. I swear. Then I'll be fine." he insisted as Collins grabbed him.

"No way man. Remember you're going this for Mandy." Collins told him bringing him to the couch.

"I know, but it hurts so damn bad Collins." he answered as Collins put on the projector. The films of Roger and Mandy served as a great deterent for Roger. All he had to do was see Amanda and he forgot about his craving. He would watch the same footage over and over again and he would tell Collins stories about her. When Mark and Benny were there they would reminice about her. Her beauty, her love for life and the way they were together.

"So tell me about the first night you two, you know." Collins asked smiling at him.

"She looked so beautiful that night. But she always looked beautiful. She wore a pink shirt and this amazing pink skirt. It was long and looked so amazing on her. I loved that skirt. My parents went away for the weekend, so I brought her to my house. I was so nervous and afterwards I played a tape I made for her. I used to write her songs so I recorded them on a tape. The first song was the first song I ever wrote for her. We were dating 4 months by then and she loved that tape. I knew I wanted to marry her that night." he told him smiling.

"After 4 months?" Collins asked smilng back.

"Yeah. She had such a way, you know? I mean her friends thought I was a freak, but she saw the good in me and knew how to reach it. Poor Mark, we subjected him to a lot of awkward moments." Roger said laughing.

"I can imagine poor Marky with you two." Collins laughed as Mark and Benny entered the loft.

"Hey Rog. How you doing?" Benny asked looking over at the film.

"I'm OK now. I was just telling Collins about mine and Mandy's first time." Roger told him smiling at Mark.

"I told you. I didn't want to hear about it from my sister, so what makes you think I wanna hear about it from you?" Mark asked going into his room.

"So tell me about all the awkward moments you put Mark through." Collins asked sitting back.

"It wasn't just Mark, you know. Other's suffered too." Benny said laughing as he drank a glass of water.

"Yeah, we had a way of only seeing each other when we were together." Roger told him laughing.

"Tell Collins about the time you guys made out through 3 songs at the Homecoming dance senior year." Benny laughed as Roger smiled at Collins.

"Yeah, like I said, we only saw each other." Roger told him laughing.

"One of the songs was that Frankie song." Benny said smiling at him

"What that Relax song?" Collins asked smiling at Roger who was nodding as he laughed. "Geez boy, you're not kidding." he said laughing.

"I'm really tired. I'm gonna go lay down for a little while." Roger told them smiling at him.

"You OK Rog?" Collins asked as he got up to turn off the projector.

"Hang on." Roger told him as he watched himself and Amanda at the diner laughing. "OK, I'm good. Thanks." he told him before turning around and going into his bedroom.

"I can't believe that works." Benny said as Roger closed the door.

"Yeah, I know. But he sees her and he gets the strength to move on. Then he starts telling me about her and it's like magic. He's a different Roger." Collins told him smiling.

"You would have loved her. She was so amazing. She may have become one of the cool kids by association, but she was super cool. Even though she turned Roger into mush. It was funny really, I mean, he was this tough leather jacket wearing bad ass and then he asked her out and he was different. It was a good different too. I mean you saw them together and believed that everyone had a soul mate and she was his. There was nothing like it." Benny told him smiling at Roger's door.

"I just hope this keeps on working on him." Collins told him getting up.

"It will. You never saw them together in the flesh. He would do anything for her. I mean anything." Benny said as Mark came out of his room.

"How was Roger this morning?" Mark asked looking up at Collins.

"It was rough for a bit, but I put the projector on and he was fine." he answered smiling at him.

"Good. I remember the night they first, you know." Mark told him sitting on the couch.

"We thought you didn't want to hear about it?" Benny asked laughing.

"I don't. But I remember when she came home from her date with him. She was so happy. I remember she came into my room to say goodnight to me. She told me how happy she was." he started before breaking down.

"You really haven't had much of a chance to mourn her, have you?" Collins asked sitting next to him.

"Not really. I mean, I was busy wondering where Roger was and how he was doing. I mean, I remember how devastated he was when she died. I worried about him. I knew he would take it hard." he told him crying into his hands.

"Mark, you're allowed to cry you know." Collins said putting his arm around him.

"I never wanted to mourn her death, you know? I mean I just wanted to remember how she lived. She wasn't afraid of anything. She never was. When we were little and my older sister Cindy would pick on me, Mandy would get in her face to leave me alone. She always protected me. And then when she started dating Roger, she made sure we were friends. She never wanted to make me feel left out. I remember for her 17th birthday, Roger took me out to help him with her present." Mark told him wiping his eyes.

"The locket, right?" Benny asked as Mark nodded.

"I was into taking pictures then, so I had a lot of Roger and Mandy. He wanted me to get pictures of them when they first started dating and a more recent one of them and make them small enough to put in the locket." he told them as Roger came out of his room.

"I remember the night I gave her that locket." Roger said quietly as he went over to the couch.

"I don't want to know." Mark said laughing as he got up.

"Mark sit down. It's not like that." Roger told him laughing with him.

"OK, but if this story leads to you two going to bed, I'm out of here." Mark said sitting down as Benny sat on the couch with them.

"She looked so beautiful. She had on this beautiful pink top and light blue jeans. Her hair was half up and half down and she was wearing these heart earrings that hung from her ears. I took her out to the diner for dinner and we were sitting in my car by the school. The lighting by the football field was always so incredible. I turned to her and told her how much I loved her and how glad I was she said yes when I asked her out. I handed her the box and told her I loved her in spanish, because I asked her out outside her spanish class. She loved it so much. You would have thought I gave her a million dollars or something." he told them as tears ran down his face. "What ever happened to that locket anyway?" he asked looking up at Mark.

"My mom had her buried wearing it. Just like all the other things you gave her. Her double heart ring, her engagement ring and the wedding band you put on her finger the night she died. She wanted Mandy and the baby to have you with them." he told him crying.

"I'm sorry for everything Mark. I shouldn't have left the night she died. I should have been there for her funeral. I should have been there for you. I'm older. You shouldn't have to take care of me." Roger said looking over at him.

"Roger, I knew you would be lost without her. You needed me." Mark told him as Roger put his arm around him.

"But she was your sister Mark. I was selfish and self centered." Roger said leaning to hug him.

"I miss her so much Roger." Mark said crying into his shoulder.

"I know. So do I, man. So do I." Roger told him as they cried together.


	10. Chapter 10

"Roger, you have to leave the house sooner or later." Mark said standing in Roger's bedroom doorway.

"I left the house." he told him plucking at his guitar.

"Benny and Allisons wedding was 2 months ago." Mark laughed as he entered the bedroom to sit on the bed.

"Well, I left the house. Are you going out to film?" he replied as he laughed back.

"Yeah, wanna come with?" he asked smiling at him.

"No, I think not. I wanna try to get another band together and I need to write some songs." he said turning to him.

"Good for you Roger. I'm glad." he told him getting up. "Well I should go, I won't be gone long. Take your AZT." he said before leaving the room.

"OK." Roger said staring down at his guitar. He had written countless songs for Amanda on it, but now that he wanted to do it to start another band he couldn't. "OK Mandy, gimme something Baby. I need a song. Any song. Just not one of those lame songs you loved." he said looking at the picture of her that was on his bed side table. Mark had adorned his room with pictures of Amanda when he was going through withdrawal because it helped him, but now that he was through it, he kept them there for inspiration.

"Hey Rog, can we talk?" Collins said knocking on the bedroom door.

"Yeah, come on in." he said looking up.

"Hey." he said quietly sitting on the bed.

"What's the matter man?" Roger asked putting his guitar on the bed.

"I just got my test results back. I'm positive." he told him breaking down.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry Collins." he said reaching out to hug him.

"I'm gay Rog, there was always a risk." he told him looking up at him.

"What about...?" he asked as Collins sat up.

"Julian, yeah right. He looks at it as a gay badge of honor." he answered wiping his eyes.

"Sorry Collins. You don't deserve this." Roger told him as tears came to his eyes.

"Neither one of us do man." Collins said as he picked up the picture of Amanda.

"You know, our baby would have been almost 4 now." he told him caressing the frame.

"I know. You would have had such a beautiful baby." Collins said smiling at him.

"I wanted a girl. But Mandy insisted the baby was a boy." Roger told him smiling at the picture.

"A boy that looked just like you, huh?" Collins asked laughing.

"Yeah, but I wanted a girl that looked just like her. Those beautiful blue eyes." he said looking up at him.

"You would have been toast. Those two beautiful ladies flashing their baby blues at you." Collins told him laughing.

"Yeah, I would have." Roger said laughing as he put the picture down. "Did they give you meds?" he asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, good old AZT. Miracle drug or sham, you be the judge." he told him laughing.

"You're gonna be OK, you know. We both are." Roger told him putting his arm around Collins shoulder.

"I know. I was thinking of getting out of here for a while." Collins told him smiling at him.

"Yeah, you wanna go out and get drunk?" Roger asked getting up.

"No, I was talking out of New York. You know, take that job offer at MIT I've been avoiding." he told him smiling up a him.

"What do you mean leave New York? What are we gonna do without you?" he asked sitting down again.

"You, Mark and Maureen'll be fine. You're writing music again and Mark's, well Mark. You guys are gonna be OK." Collins told him putting his arm around him.

"That's the thing. I'm not writing music. I haven't written a word. I don't know what it is. I look at Mandy and I can't do it. She's supposed to inspire me, but all I think about is what my life would have been like if I came here with her rather than to get away from everything that reminded me of her." he told him looking down at the picture again.

"Than maybe you need to move on once and for all. No alcohol, no drugs, no girls. Just be Roger Davis." he told him smiling over at him.

"I have no idea who Roger Davis is without Mandy. I've loved her since I was 16 and I've been dreaming about her since I was 12. Look what a bang up job I've done with my life so far. I was a drunk, a junkie and now I got HIV. At least with her I had a future. What do I have now?" he asked picking up the picture again.

"Roger, you've made it through a lot of shit. And Mandy helped you through it. But so did Mark. That boy has been so dedicated to helping you to keep a 16 year olds promise to his dead sister. I think it's about time you both let go. You two will always love her and miss her, but now it's time to move on. Maybe you'll be able to write again and he'll stop filming ducks." Collins told him patting him on the back.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet." he said looking up.

"Well, just try. I'm gonna go pack my stuff. I'll check in on you before I go." Collins said getting up to leave the room.

"Mandy Baby, I miss you so much, but I'm so glad you're not here to see all this crap." he said kissing his finger before pressing it to the picture and laying back on the bed. He couldn't believe Collins was positive. No one else deserved to suffer the same fate he had to.

"Rog, are you here?" Mark called out coming into the loft.

"Yeah Mark, where else would I be." he asked sitting up as Mark entered the bedroom.

"I filmed the cops hasselling a homeless guy in the park." he raved smiling at him.

"Oh yeah?" he asked putting Amanda's picture back on the table.

"Yeah, I mean isn't that exciting?" he said sitting on the bed.

"What's so exciting about that?" Roger asked looking up at him.

"Maureen said it's not right and we should do something to help them. I'm meeting her at the Life Cafe tonight." he told him excitedly.

"That's really cool Mark." Roger said smiling at him.

"Do you wanna come?" he asked smiling back.

"No thanks. I don't wanna be a third wheel." he told him sitting back against the wall.

"Like I wasn't a third wheel all the time with you and Mandy all the time." he said laughing.

"Yeah, well that was different." Roger said laughing with him.

"Why because it was you and Mandy?" he asked laughing.

"Yep. Go, have fun really. But you might want to go in and talk to Collins first. He's taking the job at MIT." Roger told him looking down.

"What changed his mind?" he asked seeing Roger get serious.

"He's positive. Looks like you're the one to survive." Roger told him with tears in his eyes.

"Oh man. How's he taking it?" he asked looking over at Roger.

"Good considering. You should go talk to him." he told him wiping his eyes.

"Are you gonna be OK?" he asked seeing how upset Roger was.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go. I think you should talk to him before he goes." Roger said as Mark got up off of the bed.

"OK. I'll be right back." Mark told him leaving the room to go to Collins.

"Collins is dying and Marky got a girl. See what you're missing Baby." Roger said looking over at the picture again before laying back down.


	11. Chapter 11

"Mark, can you get your girl out of the bathroom please? I gotta go." Roger shouted standing outside the bathroom door.

"Come on Maureen, Roger has to go to the bathroom." Mark yelled knocking on the bathroom door.

"You know Roger, you need a girlfriend." Maureen told him opening the door.

"Yeah well, can I pee first?" he asked pushing his way into the bathroom.

"Pookie, we have to do something about him. He's so cranky these days." Maureen told him sitting on the couch.

"Don't even think about it Maureen. He just put all the pictures of Mandy away and he's having a rough time adjusting" Mark told her quietly as he sat on the couch next to her.

"I think he needs a night out. He hasn't left this loft since we started dating." she told him putting her arm around his shoulders.

"What are you thinking Maureen?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, I have plans with my friend Joanne, so why don't you take him to the Catscratch Club tonight? It'll be fun. The girl downstairs works there and she's really pretty." she told him smiling at him as Roger came out of the bathroom.

"I'm gonna be in my room all day, so I'm not gonna bother you guys. Just don't have sex on the couch, OK. I'm still trying to get the image out of my head from last time." he said disappearing into his room again.

"It'll be fun Pookie. He obviously needs a night out." she told him smiling.

"I don't think the girl downstairs is really his type." Mark told her looking away from her.

"Why because she's alive?" she asked as Mark got up.

"Maureen, that's not fair. You didn't see them together. He was really in love with her. He needs time." Mark told her running his fingers through his short blond hair.

"Marky, I've seen the reels of film you have of them and yeah, they were great together. They seemed to really love each other, but Mark, she's gone and he's still here. He can't keep having a relationship with a ghost." she said getting up to go to him.

"Maureen, now just isn't the time." Mark said as she took his arm.

"Mark, you said it yourself. He's having a rough time, maybe all he needs is to get out and see all the other girls out there. Roger is really good looking. He could probably have any girl he wants." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah but, unfortunately the only girl he wants he can't have." Mark said leaning over to kiss her.

"Just see if he wants to go. You guys deserve some fun." Maureen said smiling at him.

"I'll ask him." he told her smiling before going to Roger's room.

"I gotta finish getting ready to meet up with Joanne." she said going back into the bathroom.

"OK." he said knocking on Roger's bedroom door. "Roger, can I come in?"

"Yeah Mark. What's up?" he asked looking up at him.

"I was thinking. Why don't we go to the Catscratch Club tonight? Maureen's going out with her friend Joanne tonight. So it'll just be you and me." he suggested as Roger sat up on the bed.

"I don't feel like going out. Especially to a strip club." Roger said looking down at his hands.

"Oh come on Roger. I think we need a guys night out." he said as Roger got up.

"This wouldn't happen to be Maureen's way of setting me up with a girl, is it? Because you know I'm not ready yet." he told him walking around the room.

"No, I just think we need a night out. You know, a guys night out." he said looking up at him.

"Just you and me? Maureen's not gonna surprise me and try to set me up with Joanne, is she?" Roger asked thinking about it.

"No Roger. She's not trying to set you up with Joanne. You're not Joanne's type anyway." Mark told him with a laugh.

"Why not?" he asked sitting on the bed.

"Because Joanne's a lesbian." Mark told him laughing.

"Oh right. OK." Roger said laughing as he looked over at him.

"So are you in?" he asked laughing.

"Yeah, I'm in." he told him as Maureen knocked on the bedroom door.

"OK boys, I'm off. Don't get into too much trouble tonight." she told them smiling at them as Mark got up to kiss her goodbye.

"We won't. Have fun with Joanne." he told her hugging her before she turned around and left the loft.

"Have you ever met Joanne?" Roger asked looking up at him.

"No, but from what Maureen tells me she's really cool. She's a lawyer and they have fun together." he told him as Roger laughed.

"And she's a lesbian." he told him laughing as he got up.

"Maureen is not a lesbian. She's as hetero as they come." Mark told him defensively.

"Yeah, OK. Let me go get ready." Roger told him leaving the room to go into he bathroom to get ready to go out. "So how did you hear about this place anyway?" Roger asked brushing his hair.

"Maureen told me about it. She said the girl downstairs works there." he told him putting his scarf on.

"So she is trying to set me up." Roger said coming out of the bathroom.

"She's not trying to set you up. She just wants you to go out and have fun." he told him as Roger started putting his jacket on.

"Yeah, well I'm not gonna start dating the girl downstairs. I'm not ready, I have HIV. Not exactly a good pick up line." Roger told him as Mark opened the door.

"It's possible for you to date, you know?" he said as they left.

"I know, I'm just not ready." he said as they walked to the Catscratch Club.

"I know." Mark replied looking up at him.

A/N: This story ends a month before Rent starts. I will be writing another story post Rent that continues to follow Roger and Mark's friendship. I hope you have all enjoyed this story. I actually loved writing it. I know there are a few inconsistencies, which I will be going over and fixing. I like to stick to the facts presented in the play. I figure, why mess with perfection, right? Well I hope you will all re read the story to see what I fixed. I love reviews and look forward to reading more.


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